Global Warming Melting Antarctica
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.” While icebergs naturally break away from the mainland, collapses like this are unusual but are happening more frequently in recent decades, Vaughan said. The collapse is similar to what happens to hardened glass when it is smashed with a hammer, he said.
The rest of the Wilkins ice shelf, which is about the size of Connecticut, is holding on by a narrow beam of thin ice. Scientists worry that it too may collapse. Larger, more dramatic ice collapses occurred in 2002 and 1995. Vaughan had predicted the Wilkins shelf would collapse about 15 years from now.
Scientists said they are not concerned about a rise in sea level from the latest event, but say it’s a sign of worsening global warming. Such occurrences are “more indicative of a tipping point or trigger in the climate system,” said Sarah Das, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
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Comments
The Science experiment in grade school was only one ice cube. The Antarctica ice sheet is a few hundred feet above sea level. Now do the same experiment with several ice cubes stacking them up and over the edge of the glass. You will see as it melts the water flows up and over the glass. We know this will effect sea level but my question would be what will happen to a few million tons of water being moved from the poles to every where else. If a tire on a car gets out of balance it shakes. Now is there more to worry about then just sea level?
Of course there is more to worry about than just sea level - it has the potential to flood numerous places all over the planet as sea level increases, result in more oceanic storms, change the paths of the ocean currents resulting in dramatic climate changes and basically further the weather related havok that has been occurring all over the world. One has to wonder if it is going to be a priviledge to be witnesses to these changes in our planet.
I remember a science experiment in grade school where you put an ice cube in a glass of water, measure the water level, and guess how much the water level will rise when the ice cube melts. The surprise was that the ice cube melting didn’t change the water level at all. Apparently, the ice displaced exactly as much water as it created when it melted. Does the same thing happen with the icebergs, or will there actually be some change in sea level as they continue to melt down? Is there no concern over this one because it’s small? Or is there no concern because with science at work, there’s no chance of sea level increasing?
(Things to think about when you have too much time on your hands…)