Climate scientist warns: "Arctic melting decades ahead of schedule"

[Aldo Leopold]

Source: Huffington Post

"Low-lying island nations threatened by rising sea levels this century could see the disastrous consequences of climate change far sooner than expected, according to one of the world's leading climate scientists.

"In the wake of last month's discovery that the extent of Arctic sea ice coverage hit a record low this year, climate scientist Michael Mann told the Guardian that "Island nations that have considered the possibility of evacuation at some point, like Tuvalu, may have to be contending those sort of decisions within the matter of a decade or so."

"Mann, who is the director of Pennsylvania State University's Earth System Science Center, said that current melting trends show sea ice is "declining faster than the models predict."

Read more: Link to source

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Could not figure out how to post a link to the full article.

[alfredo]

1. Here s the link

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/05/arctic-ice-melt-sea-level-rise_n_1942666.html?ir=Green

Up in the URL window, highlight the URL and copy, then paste. Try highlighting and copying the link above.

[Aldo Leopold]

2. Thanks, alfredo.

[alfredo]

5. I've been using computers for over thirty years, and they still confuse me at times.

[dipsydoodle]

19. The alternative

is to highlight then press Ctrl and C to copy and then got to where you need to paste it to and press Ctrl and V and it will paste it there. I learned that way from my banjo pals over your side 10 years ago for checking out stuff on ebay quickly.

[triplepoint]

3. So, I guess Branson and Ellison are Learning to Swim....

Last edited Sat Oct 6, 2012, 01:37 AM - Edit history (1)

(both own their own island), and keeping their personal submarines handy...The low lying islands are global warming's "canaries in the coal mine." When they become submerged, we'll be that much closer to a real-life version of "Waterworld." I so want to grow some gills and watch Senator Inhofe drown in his own bodily fluids.

[alfredo]

4. Europe is going to suffer greatly.

[joshcryer]

6. As we predicted in E&E years ago.

[24601]

7. On the bright side, some people, landlocked today, may end up with more

valuable waterfront property.

[greiner3]

15. "... valuable waterfront property."

A corollary to AZ being referred to the same way in the event of a huge CA earthquake.

[RobertEarl]

8. Forget the 'Human Caused' argument

Have found the following to be effective when talking with a denier....

No reason to try melting warmed over ice cubes.

Instead, feed them the raw facts; The oceans, for what ever reason, are warming.

The ice is melting for some reason and that means climates will change. Sea levels will rise... yada, yadda, yaddda.

Now, what are we as a society going to do to prepare for the coming changes?

[XemaSab]

9. .

[pediatricmedic]

10. How does arctic ice melting change sea level?

It is already floating and displacing water and will have no effect on sea level.

[ronnie624]

11. Glaciers, which are sitting on land, will melt and drain into the oceans. n/t

[Festivito]

12. Ice floats 10% above water line.

That 10% is a large amount of water. Add in glaciers and a raise is certain.

[heaven05]

13. yada

the oceans are warming also because of the loss of reflectivity of ice on suns rays. more water.

[ThomThom]

18. more heat more methane more heat more methane more heat

too hot and food will be hard to grow, drought, flood, fire............ water rising will be just part of the situation

[greiner3]

16. Ice floats;

Because it is infused with oxygen. This oxygen, when the ice is melted, brings the volume of water to the amount it was prior to becoming frozen in the first place.

Hence, there is almost no imperceptible rise in a body of water when ice melts.

[heaven05]

20. is

that good science? I'll have get back to you on that.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. No, it's not because "it is infused with oxygen"

It's because of the behaviour of hydrogen bonds:

Water is one of the few exceptions to this behavior. When liquid water is cooled, it contracts like one would expect until a temperature of approximately 4 degrees Celsius is reached. After that, it expands slightly until it reaches the freezing point, and then when it freezes it expands by approximately 9%.

This unusual behavior has its origin in the structure of the water molecule. There is a strong tendency to form a network of hydrogen bonds, where each hydrogen atom is in a line between two oxygen atoms. This hydrogen bonding tendency gets stronger as the temperature gets lower (because there is less thermal energy to shake the hydrogen bonds out of position). The ice structure is completely hydrogen bonded, and these bonds force the crystalline structure to be very "open", as shown in the following picture:
...
In the following two pictures, the first shows a typical structure of liquid water, while the second is an ice structure; note the extra open space in the ice.

http://www.iapws.org/faq1/freeze.htm

There is no rise in the water level because, following Archimedes' Principle, the ice, like any floating object, displaces the amount of water equal to its weight. When it melts, the weight is unchanged, but the water molecules just occupy a smaller volume, with none of it above the surface.

[okasha]

22. Water in its solid state

is of lesser volume than the same amount of water in its liquid state, just as liquid water has less volume than steam. You can check this out for yourself by looking at your ice cube tray or making tea.

Edited to add: If we so-called first and second-world humans weren't the petroleum addicts we are, there wouldn't be a "schedule."

[heaven05]

14. please

put all repug senators and representatives that do not admit fossil fuel generated warming is cause should, at the right time, be put on an island that will be inundated. Period. can't say they didn't know it was coming. saw a 'conservative on bill maher giving his head in sand greed argument just last evening. knew this was coming decades ago, all the models showed it!

[greiner3]

17. I also curse them with;

Very long life, say they live to be 200 years. That will be long enough to rue their attitude, and carrying the water of their masters.

[yurbud]

23. Florida will soon be a float state instead of a swing state.

[Quantess]

24. Science & Ladyparts Committee

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