WASHINGTON -- An already relentless melting of the Arctic greatly accelerated this summer, a warning sign that some scientists worry could mean global warming has passed an ominous tipping point. One even speculated that summer sea ice would be gone in five years.Greenland's ice sheet melted nearly 19 billion tons more than the previous high mark, and the volume of Arctic sea ice at summer's end was half what it was just four years earlier, according to new NASA satellite data obtained by The Associated Press.
Just last year, two top scientists surprised their colleagues by projecting that the Arctic sea ice was melting so rapidly that it could disappear entirely by the summer of 2040.Last week, after reviewing his own new data, NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally said: "At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer by 2012, much faster than previous predictions."
"The Arctic is often cited as the canary in the coal mine for climate warming," Zwally said. "Now as a sign of climate warming, the canary has died."
The burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases responsible for man-made global warming. For the past several days, government diplomats have been debating in Bali, Indonesia, the outlines of a new climate treaty calling for tougher limits on these gases.What happens in the Arctic has worldwide implications. Faster melting there means eventual sea level rise and more immediate changes in winter weather because of less sea ice.In the United States, a weakened Arctic blast moving south to collide with moist air from the Gulf of Mexico can mean less rain and snow in some areas, including the drought-stricken Southeast, said Michael MacCracken, a former federal climate scientist who heads the nonprofit Climate Institute.
"This year the change is so big, particularly in the Arctic sea ice, that you've got to stop and say, 'What is going on here?' You can't look away from what's happening here," said Waleed Abdalati, NASA's chief of cyrospheric sciences. "This is going to be a watershed year."
2007 shattered records for Arctic melt:
• 552 billion tons of ice melted this summer from the Greenland ice sheet, preliminary satellite data released by NASA show. That's 15 percent more than the annual average summer melt, beating 2005's record.
• A record amount of surface ice was lost over Greenland this year, 12 percent more than the previous worst year, 2005, according to data from the University of Colorado. That volume of water could cover Washington, D.C., a half-mile deep, researchers calculated.
• The surface area of summer sea ice floating in the Arctic Ocean this summer was nearly 23 percent below the previous record. The dwindling sea ice already has affected wildlife, with 6,000 walruses coming ashore in northwest Alaska in October for the first time in recorded history.
White sea ice reflects about 80 percent of the sun's heat off Earth, Zwally said. When there is no sea ice, about 90 percent of the heat goes into the ocean. Warmer oceans then lead to more melting.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a … -1/LOCAL17
We fooked but how many of you will remain here by 2012-2013 on bf2s.com?not many, many of you will be screaming help me help
Just last year, two top scientists surprised their colleagues by projecting that the Arctic sea ice was melting so rapidly that it could disappear entirely by the summer of 2040.Last week, after reviewing his own new data, NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally said: "At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer by 2012, much faster than previous predictions."
"The Arctic is often cited as the canary in the coal mine for climate warming," Zwally said. "Now as a sign of climate warming, the canary has died."
The burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases responsible for man-made global warming. For the past several days, government diplomats have been debating in Bali, Indonesia, the outlines of a new climate treaty calling for tougher limits on these gases.What happens in the Arctic has worldwide implications. Faster melting there means eventual sea level rise and more immediate changes in winter weather because of less sea ice.In the United States, a weakened Arctic blast moving south to collide with moist air from the Gulf of Mexico can mean less rain and snow in some areas, including the drought-stricken Southeast, said Michael MacCracken, a former federal climate scientist who heads the nonprofit Climate Institute.
"This year the change is so big, particularly in the Arctic sea ice, that you've got to stop and say, 'What is going on here?' You can't look away from what's happening here," said Waleed Abdalati, NASA's chief of cyrospheric sciences. "This is going to be a watershed year."
2007 shattered records for Arctic melt:
• 552 billion tons of ice melted this summer from the Greenland ice sheet, preliminary satellite data released by NASA show. That's 15 percent more than the annual average summer melt, beating 2005's record.
• A record amount of surface ice was lost over Greenland this year, 12 percent more than the previous worst year, 2005, according to data from the University of Colorado. That volume of water could cover Washington, D.C., a half-mile deep, researchers calculated.
• The surface area of summer sea ice floating in the Arctic Ocean this summer was nearly 23 percent below the previous record. The dwindling sea ice already has affected wildlife, with 6,000 walruses coming ashore in northwest Alaska in October for the first time in recorded history.
White sea ice reflects about 80 percent of the sun's heat off Earth, Zwally said. When there is no sea ice, about 90 percent of the heat goes into the ocean. Warmer oceans then lead to more melting.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a … -1/LOCAL17
We fooked but how many of you will remain here by 2012-2013 on bf2s.com?not many, many of you will be screaming help me help
Last edited by blademaster (2007-12-16 11:04:33)
