Huge Antarctic ice chunk collapses »
Posted by: engineer 4 months, 4 weeks ago105 Comments Report this Story
Antarctic ice chunk nine times the size of Manhattan collapses Rest of ice shelf is hanging by a narrow beam of thin ice Larger, more dramatic ice collapses occurred in 2002 and 1995
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engineer4 months, 4 weeks ago
A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.
Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.
This is the result of global warming, said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan.
Because scientists noticed satellite images within hours, they diverted satellite cameras and even flew an airplane over the ongoing collapse for rare pictures and video.
"It's an event we don't get to see very often," said Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo. "The cracks fill with water and slice off and topple... That gets to be a runaway situation."
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Endoscopy4 months, 4 weeks ago
LOL
The 2000 meter down measuring tools checking temperature and water flow in the oceans show a slight drop in temperature. The Russian scientists measuring the average earth temperature say that the temperature has not only flattened in the last decade but has started down again. A Polish scientist working for NOAA quit and further developed the project he was working on that proves greenhouse gass don't have a greenhouse effect. The Antartic is getting colder an the snow and Ice levels have been growing.
It couldn't be that the weight was too much but global warming in an area where it is getting colder and the ice cap is increasing is the cause.
Don't let the facts get in the way of your beliefs. Just because more and more scientists are saying the theory is wrong shouldn't matter. Keep up the Global warming mantra.
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DanmLiberals4 months, 4 weeks ago
HEy guys thanks for pointing out that we have Global Warming. Now what are we gonna do about it?
How come we have already gone through 6 ice ages without any man made Global Warming causing the Earth to thaw out? Doesn't this say to any logical person that we go through these cycles?
THe really issue that you libs are looking at is the self loathing that humans are ruining this world. I agree with it but what can you do? All you can do is get rid of every person on this planet and the earth will return to normal. That is not going to happen.
Eventually we will run out of oil and materials that keep our civilization together and mother nature will take over again. Until that happens, get used to seeing ice melt.
BTW, this story was reported on Faux News so it must not be true, RIGHT?
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Klarissa4 months, 4 weeks ago
Several ice shelves -- Prince Gustav Channel, Larsen Inlet, Larsen A, Larsen B, Wordie, Muller and Jones -- have collapsed in the past three decades, the British Antarctic Survey said.
Larsen B, a 1,254-square-mile ice shelf, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Rhode Island, collapsed in 2002, the group said.
Climate in Antarctica is complicated and more isolated from the rest of the world.
Much of the continent is not warming and some parts are even cooling, Vaughan said.
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crespi4 months, 4 weeks ago
Who are you protecting, Klarissa?
Exxon, who paid millions to crackpots to "prove" there is no Global Warming?
Or is it the heinous Fundamentalist Christians, who called people Communist, traitor and coward, ON THESE VERY PAGES (and even worse on the old Netscape) if anyone DARED to point out the environmental facts, since I HAVE CHRISTIAN MAGAZINES, PAMPHLETS AND RADIO TRANSCRIPTS GOING BACK TO 1980 DENYING AGAIN AND AGAIN THAT THERE IS EVEN A GLOBAL TEMPERATURE RISE.
The Christians LIED. Many normal people are unsure why and think the Fundamentalist Christians were in cahoots with the malfeasant oil companies.
But WE know better don't we? You wanted HELL ON EARTH to prove Heaven's "greatness." You wanted TRIBULATIONS to prove your hate of the world. You want fear and riots so people will turn to your creepy war-mongering, torturing, thieving GOD and join his neocon minions.
Keep telling us IT'S NOT HAPPENING or IT'S ALL SO NATURAL.
We WILL remember...
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Isoparm4 months, 4 weeks ago
Climatic behavior is very complex, which is why I find it amazing that so many people with apparently no science background whatsoever are feeling quite comfortable voicing judgments as to the validity of what is occurring. Would these same people feel quite so qualified voicing opinions, or arguing with a doctor on the merits of this, or that, technique to apply to a pending heart surgery? Who would trust this judgment? The science describing climate behavior is vastly more complex, and the most powerful computers today, are required for most calculated projections.
The climatic interactions in Antarctica are complex, but when ones sees the re-occurrences of ice-shelf collapse as you described, this simplifies a search for a cause. These continent-wide occurrences, eliminates a spot cause (such as a volcano), and only re-enforces evidence of shifting heat balance. The Antarctic is not isolated from the rest of the world. Everything effects everything else.
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doloresg4 months, 4 weeks ago
yikes! that's huge. Of course we survived 2002 and 1995, but if this keeps going on God only knows what it can lead to!
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ML20074 months, 4 weeks ago
Global warming is a fact for right now. How and what actually is the cause of it all has not been decided. The Oceans are not going to rise as long as the ice that is melting and breaking off into the Oceans are floating ice and not mainland ice run off. If Antartica begins to melt ice off the mainland, then the coast lines around the World have a problem. Good news article, but doesn't contribute much relative to the debate of what is causing the global warming.
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engineer4 months, 4 weeks ago
2500 Scientists (I believe that is the number) say that man is the major contributor. When we drive we produce heat. When we do anything which produces heat unnaturally, we contribute to the global warming. I am not saying we should give up everything, but we have to limit. The heat we produce stays in the earth We burn we go from potential to kinetic energy in the form of heat.
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nonparted4 months, 4 weeks ago
to the global warming believers:
everytime this subject is mentioned all i hear from the scientists and u believers its caused by co2 humans produce
i'm not saying that we dont contibute but im not convinced that humans are a major contributor. (from fossil fuels)
heres some things to think about. maybe someone has an answer
how do we know that this hasnt happened before (huge pieces of ice breaking off) in the past.
what about deforestation and the development of farm land. from my understanding plants need carbon monoxide & dioxide to survive plus they help cool the planet.
what about volcano erruptions forcing gasses by the ton into the atmospere.
from the industrial age to the 60 & 70s gas guzzling,oil burning cars (since the 80 humans made big progress in contolling pollution from fossil fuels)why is the temp still rising @ a steady rate? to me one would think if humans are a major cause & the steps that we took as i mention the rate of temp rise wouldve slowed.
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capn_caveman4 months, 4 weeks ago
Actually floating sea ice will contribute to sea level rise:
http://nsidc.org/news/press/20050801_floatingic...
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ML20074 months, 4 weeks ago
"when melting ice slides into the ocean from land, it will displace sea water and the levels will rise".. That is the first quote of the link you gave me. Basic physical science will tell you when the water is displaced by ice, all the rise has taken place, and when the ice melts, no rise. Sorry, but please read what I wrote.
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capn_caveman4 months, 4 weeks ago
Thanks for the link! That's not something you see every day for sure.
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BronxBomber4 months, 4 weeks ago
So we can expect some intense flooding and other natural disasters in the not too distant future. Don't like the looks of this at all...
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bluenote15224 months, 4 weeks ago
Definition of neocon for those that use the term constantly:
Rich Lowry: Historically, 30 years ago it meant a former liberal who became a conservative. The cliche was because "they were mugged by reality," but it was because they saw the empirical failures of liberal welfare, state and foreign policies, and they were therefore less ideological than other conservatives and brought much more of a social science background to their argumentation.
Wikipedia definition:
The term 'Neoconservative' was originally used as a criticism against liberals that had politically 'moved to the right'.
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crespi4 months, 4 weeks ago
Rush Limbaugh repeatedly and publicly referred to himself as a Neocon. For years.
Are you impugning that that self-professed liar is a big fat liar?
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eddie1074 months, 4 weeks ago
Thanks Blue, that was very interesting and enlightening. Sort of brings a smile to my face. :)
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bluenote15224 months, 4 weeks ago
Where is the photo of the polar bear stranded on the ice flow that they always use to illustrate global warming. They never mention that he was resting after eating a seal and that polar bears can swim 60-100 miles.
Global Warming is the distraction that a magician uses. While he waves his left hand he removes your wristwatch with his right.
Go back to the mid seventies when Time magazine had many many covers on global cooling. The climate is always warming or cooling. That is called a cycle. A segment of that cycle is being defined as a trend. It is morning and the sun is rising does not mean it will continue to rise. A rooster get's conditioned to think that it creates the sunrise by it's call in the morning. He has no more affect on the sunrise than we have on global warming. Stop paying scientist to give you the results you want and they will become objective. If their next paycheck depends on there being a man made problem that is the conclusion they will try to make.
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Bacalao4 months, 4 weeks ago
I agree the weather goes through natural cycles all the time. If we happen to accentuate these trends so what. its not like we will ever have a year without a winter. Hey I liked all the warm weather here in Western Arkansas this past winter. It almost reminded me if the winters we had growing up (in Miami, Fla.). Heck, summer all year could be fun. I wouldn't have to breakdown and set up my pool every year, I could leave it up all year. and just think hopefully in a few years I won't have to drive as far to go to the beach.
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engineer4 months, 4 weeks ago
This is ANTARCTICA, not the ARCTIC. THERE ARE NO POLAR BEARS IN THE ANTARCTIC
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CRYMTYPHON4 months, 4 weeks ago
If the conclusions of scientists were based on lobby money, wouldn't most be saying there is no global warming?
Unless you think the tree-huggers have more cash and paychecks to hand out than the oil/auto/plastics industry?
But the field isn't even split. The significant majority of climate scientists say we have man-made global warming; and they can clearly state why they conclude this.
It is the deniers who flail away with distraction. Do not distract us with what someone said in the 70's. Not relevant. We already knew the earth has seen cooling and warming before; because the scientists who are warning us now, told us; and said that man-made global warming was diferent.
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vor4 months, 4 weeks ago
The words Global Warming should be stricken from the language. They are too often misinterpreted. The correct term is Global Climate Change. There are likely historical markers that could foresee what may happen over the next 100 years unfortunately we have no accurate records dating anywhere far enough back to accurately forecast potential change. Perhaps the humans currently occupying this planet have been spared the true extremes. I am definitely not sure I would want to be here in another hundred years. If man doesn't destroy himself by then the climate may do the job for him. It want have anything to do with Revelation either. Just nature closing up shop on mankind. Then there will be no one to ruminate about how superior human beings are to their surroundings. We know the mighty cockroach will survive. As for Man, don't bet on it.
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mishandledComment removed: User banned.
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djn3nunez34 months, 4 weeks ago
"Can we say solar activity causes global warming?"
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09...
Sunspots alter the amount of energy Earth gets from the sun, but not enough to impact global climate change, a new study suggests.
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Klarissa4 months, 4 weeks ago
From the same article:
"Sun Not Off the Hook for Warming
The authors and other experts are quick to point out that more complicated solar mechanisms could possibly be driving climate change in ways we don't yet understand.
Climate change carries such high stakes that even more unlikely possibilities may capture scientific attention.
"There are numerous studies that find a correlation [between solar variation and Earth climate]," said Sami Solanki of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Lindau, Germany.
"I think the main question," the Max Planck Institute's Solanki said, "is, How does the sun [in general] act on climate? What are the processes that are going on in the Earth's atmosphere?""
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