An Antarctic ice shelf has disappeared: scientists

[swag]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One Antarctic ice shelf has quickly vanished, another is disappearing and glaciers are melting faster than anyone thought due to climate change, U.S. and British government researchers reported on Friday. They said the Wordie Ice Shelf, which had been disintegrating since the 1960s, is gone and the northern part of the Larsen Ice Shelf no longer exists. More than 3,200 square miles (8,300 square km) have broken off from the Larsen shelf since 1986.

Climate change is to blame, according to the report from the U.S. Geological Survey and the British Antarctic Survey, available at pubs.usgs.gov/imap/2600/B.

"The rapid retreat of glaciers there demonstrates once again the profound effects our planet is already experiencing -- more rapidly than previously known -- as a consequence of climate change," U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement.

"This continued and often significant glacier retreat is a wakeup call that change is happening ... and we need to be prepared," USGS glaciologist Jane Ferrigno, who led the Antarctica study, said in a statement. "Antarctica is of special interest because it holds an estimated 91 percent of the Earth's glacier volume, and change anywhere in the ice sheet poses significant hazards to society," she said.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5332BU20090404

[jpak]

1. global warming is a fraud

:eyes:

[pscot]

3. Right.

These so called "scientists" are just tools of the liberals. If they didn't say this their grant money would dry up.

[jpak]

4. Now yer talkin'

:D

[mascarax]

14. "it's cyclical!"

always the retort of one of my Repub coworkers, who then likes to cite a local idiot 'anti-global warming' meteorologist.
<sigh>

[NNadir]

21. Actually, the way some asses act about the world's largest form of climate change

free form of primary energy - insisting it be banned because they know no science - this outcome is hardly surprising.

I personally know a real ass who sits on his bourgeois ass sucking down drinks under his mom's table who keeps telling people that "solar energy will save us..." (or half of us) by 2050.

Apparently the ass in question thinks that climate change will become important in 2050.

Meanwhile, back on planet Earth... http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/alternate/page/renew_energy_consump/table1.html

This matter has a human responsibility and it's entirely due to ignorance.

It's amazing who you see complaining about this matter, as if said people care.

Bullshit. They'd rather cultivate their fantasies rather than responsibility.

I basically think if you want to know who's responsible, the mirror would be a great place to start.

[jpak]

30. Take your meds

:rofl:

[progressoid]

31. No - it's cyclical!

[Delphinus]

2. I've not been on the

'net for two days ... or seen the news ... what a thing to come home to. :(

[bemildred]

5. Cheap condos coming soon ...

Antarctic spring.

[ohio2007]

6. the shelf is due to break away and cause a chill

and of course,

"The north pole is to be ice free by summer 2008"....

[trthnd4jstc]

7. How about huge sheets of white plastic to fill in the spaces of the Arctic and Antartic that

the ice has already melted away. This will help reflect the signs light. Of course we could try to develop Ice Nine, i.e. Kurt Vonnegut.

[Downwinder]

8. How about routing the pool of plastic from the Pacific?

[kestrel91316]

10. Brilliant! Now we just need to find a way to reap obscene profits doing it.

[XemaSab]

18. Kill me now

x(

[tkmorris]

26. I gotta say no to the Ice Nine, all my beer would freeze

I might cry and that would scare the kids.

[burning rain]

9. Rush Limbaugh going for a picnic & needed some ice....

to keep his lunch fresh in the cooler?

[Ian David]

11. ..

"Tell us again about how Al Gore was going to raise our taxes, asshole!"

[Blue_Tires]

24. Al Gore was also going to take their guns and SUVs

I was posting/lurking on a lot of car different forums then, you would not believe how many people honestly believed that...

[rollingrock]

12. Good time to invest in that beachfront property you always dreamd about

or not.

[givemebackmycountry]

13. Meanwhile, James Inhofe in Oklahoma says....

More ICE for my 30 year aged scotch!

[Auggie]

15. Homo sapiens never truly learned to evolve

True, we've had our fleeting moment in history thanks to our ability to harness and manufacture iron, cement and petroleum products. But we can't get past our own greed to propagate our genes or in the acquisition of money or material possessions to make it much further.

[pscot]

16. Wilkens Ice Shelf disintegrates

Source: Reuters

Hundreds of square kilomeyers of the Wilkwns ice shelf has collapsed. The area lies on the west side of the Antarctic peninsuila, between Charcot and Latady islands and the mainland. The link provided shows the current situation. Google earth still shows the old configuaration. The contrast is quite amazing. Scientists are stunned.

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5326HO20090404

This is also being discussed here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x192398

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5326HO20090404

[SpiralHawk]

17. "Pish posh. More lib-rul fact-based nonsense." - Rush DraftDodger Limbaugh (R)

"This just means that those of us getting paid $40 million a year to spout corporate propaganda will have a larger supply of ice cubes to cool our Long Island Ice Tea as we wash down our Oxycontin and Viagara by our swimming pools. So that's actually good news. Smirk."

- Rush DraftDodger Limbaugh (R - Propagandist)

[muriel_volestrangler]

29. Note that is the third ice shelf in this story

Wordie has gone; Larsen continues to break up; and Wilkins has lost a major connection to the main land mass.

http://www.global-greenhouse-warming.com.nyud.net:8080/images/WordieIceShelf.jpg

http://www.global-greenhouse-warming.com/Antarctic-Wordie-Ice-Shelf.html

[Mithreal]

19. Check in Cheney's underground lair. nt

[RedCloud]

20. We should all get free water and swimming pools.

That way we can water our lawns and chill out at the pool, all while saving the planet and tying up the excess water!

[greenman3610]

22. for answers to denier memes

http://www.youtube.com/user/greenman3610


"Climate Denial Crock of the Week"

[Jersey Ginny]

23. Excellent! More oil drilling opportunities!!!!

[Lorien]

25. "No one could have imagined that the levees would fail"

"No one would ever imagine that terrorists would fly planes into buildings..." We'll hear the same from our world leaders soon enough when climate change starts to impact all of us. It's not our grandchildren's problem; it's OUR problem!

[Fumesucker]

27. No one could have imagined that the global financial system could collapse..

From mismanagement and fraud..

Oh yes, there are lots of "no one could have imagined" things in this world, eh?

[dipsydoodle]

28. The bit which broke off is the size of Jamaica

Video here : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7984054.stm

[steven johnson]

32. Wilkins shelf ice bridge ruptures in Antarctic

There is further deterioration of the Antarctic.

An ice bridge linking a shelf of ice the size of Jamaica to two islands in Antarctica has snapped.
Scientists say the collapse could mean the Wilkins Ice Shelf is on the brink of breaking away, and provides further evidence or rapid change in the region.
Sited on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, the Wilkins shelf has been retreating since the 1990s.
Researchers regarded the ice bridge as an important barrier, holding the remnant shelf structure in place.
Its removal will allow ice to move more freely between Charcot and Latady islands, into the open ocean.
European Space Agency satellite pictures had indicated last week that cracks were starting to appear in the bridge. Newly created icebergs were seen to be floating in the sea on the western side of the peninsula, which juts up from the continent towards South America's southern tip.

While the break-up will have no direct impact on sea level because the ice is floating, it heightens concerns over the impact of climate change on this part of Antarctica.

Ice bridge ruptures in Antarctic

[Uncle Joe]

33. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, swag.

[earth mom]

34. This is unbearably sad and why Al Gore should be president right now!!!

:cry: