Greenland just melted.

[Coyotl]

Just like Al Gore said it would!

==================
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/24jul_greenland/

Satellites See Unprecedented Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt

July 24, 2012: For several days this month, Greenland's surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations. Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its two-mile-thick center, experienced some degree of melting at its surface, according to measurements from three independent satellites analyzed by NASA and university scientists.

On average in the summer, about half of the surface of Greenland's ice sheet naturally melts. At high elevations, most of that melt water quickly refreezes in place. Near the coast, some of the melt water is retained by the ice sheet and the rest is lost to the ocean. But this year the extent of ice melting at or near the surface jumped dramatically. According to satellite data, an estimated 97 percent of the ice sheet surface thawed at some point in mid-July. ...

............................

===================

Could a Melting Ice Sheet Really Raise the Oceans 23 Feet?
http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/could-a-melting-ice-sheet-really-raise-the-oceans-23-feet-212/


That’s the rough equation behind a frequently cited stat in news coverage of climate change. According to a transcript, Anderson Cooper said in a CNN special report this week, “If the entire ice sheet dissolved, sea levels would rise by 23 feet — spurning a global catastrophe that would flood coastal cities and displace tens of millions of people. Scientists don’t think the entire ice sheet can melt any time soon, but every inch of sea level rise counts. Millions live near coastlines less than three feet above sea level.” The dire 23-feet number also appeared in a CNN.com article this week, as well as in the Washington Post. (Numbers Guy reader Brian Sivy suggested I examine the estimate.)

The math behind the assumption is straightforward. ..........

[RKP5637]

1. Your latter paragraph is probably what it will take to get humans

paying attention, most are too self-absorbed to pay attention to where we're headed.

[Junkdrawer]

2. See also (WARNING: FULL ON SCIENCE)....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101744079

[limpyhobbler]

3. This planet is defective, did anyone save the receipt?

Maybe we can exchange it for a new one.

[Junkdrawer]

4. After Venus, they're not giving refunds....

Break it, you bought it.

[Enrique]

5. a layman's question

in the first part, you say that the Greenland ice has melted. In the second part, you say that if that happens, then oceans will rise 23 feet.

Have sea levels risen 23 feet?

[Junkdrawer]

6. When in doubt, Jeff Masters is The Man....

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2160

[Enrique]

8. thanks, I read it

but what about the 23 feet. Apparently the event in Greenland which would cause the 23 feet rise is not the event that just happened. If that's correct, what's the difference between them, what's the relationship between them?

[Junkdrawer]

10. How fast Greenland will give way (full or partial) is anyone's guess....

Most likely, THAT is years out. Scary thing is that there are melt tunnels undermining the ice sheets so a series of catastrophic failures are NOT out of the question.

[Junkdrawer]

11. More here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/11/greenland-channels-ice-loss

[morningfog]

12. What has actually happened is that 97% of the surface

ice has begun to "thaw", or has shown signs of thawing. Not that 97% has melted. The headline has been confusing lots of people.

It is still significant in that the melting was very quick and is not a common occurrence. A 150 year event for that much of the surface ice to show melting, but still not as rapid as this is.

[nichomachus]

7. Well, that's what they get for leaving it out in the sun

[gopiscrap]

9. OK fucking republican climate change deniers

what do you say to that?

[morningfog]

13. While this is unprecedented and a concern, Greenland has not yet melted.

"Melt maps derived from the three satellites showed that on July 8, about 40 percent of the ice sheet's surface had melted. By July 12, 97 percent had melted."

The ice sheet surface showing melt is far from all of the ice melting. This is the surface. Certainly cause for concern and alarm, but not as extreme as some of the headlines.

[cthulu2016]

14. What aren't the seas 22 feet higher?

Climate change is very real. That does not justify this kind of exaggeration, which I consider counter-productive.

The OP say the Greenland ice sheet is 97% melted.

The OP says that if the Greenland ice sheet melted sea levels would rise 23 feet.

Yet it is obvious that sea levels are not 22 feet higher as a result... or even one foot higher.

Thus one of the claims in incorrect.

Actually, 97% of the area of the Greenland ice sheet has seen a temperature over 32 degrees Fahrenheit recently. Thus there is some melting over 97% of the area. Not a total melt of the ice in those areas—some melting.

And the bulk of that water stays where it is, sitting upon ice, waiting to be refrozen a few months from now.

That map that has been making the rounds is not a satellite photograph. The white area disappearing does not mean there is no longer any ice in that area.

Short of the sun going nova there is no way the entire Greenland ice sheet could melt in four days or four months or four years.

Yet the fate of the Greenland ice sheet is, indeed, a serious problem.

Exaggerating a very real and serious problem merely allows people to continue to dismiss the problem.

[sibelian]

15. blah liberals blah hippies blah conspiracy

etc