Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

OKIsItJustMe

(19,938 posts)
Thu Jan 5, 2017, 04:36 PM Jan 2017

Climate change could trigger strong sea level rise

https://www.uni-bonn.de/news/003-2017/
[font face=Serif]Date: Jan 05, 2017

[font size=5]Climate change could trigger strong sea level rise[/font]

[font size=4]About 15,000 years ago, the ocean around Antarctica has seen an abrupt sea level rise of several meters. It could happen again. An international team of scientists with the participation of the University of Bonn is now reporting its findings in the magazine Nature Scientific Reports.[/font]

[font size=3]University of Bonn’s climate researcher Michael E. Weber is a member of the study group. He says, "The changes that are currently taking place in a disturbing manner resemble those 14,700 years ago." At that time, changes in atmospheric-oceanic circulation led to a stratification in the ocean with a cold layer at the surface and a warm layer below. Under such conditions, ice sheets melt more strongly than when the surrounding ocean is thoroughly mixed. This is exactly what is presently happening around the Antarctic.

The main author of the study, the Australian climate researcher Chris Fogwill from the Climate Change Research Center in Sydney, explains the process as follows: "The reason for the layering is that global warming in parts of Antarctica is causing land based ice to melt, adding massive amounts of freshwater to the ocean surface. At the same time as the surface is cooling, the deeper ocean is warming, which has already accelerated the decline of glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment.” It appears global warming is replicating conditions that, in the past, triggered significant shifts in the stability of the Antarctic ice sheet.

To investigate the climate changes of the past, the scientists are studying drill cores from the eternal ice. Layer by layer, this frozen "climate archive" reveals its secrets to the experts. In previous studies, the scientists had found evidence of eight massive melting events in deep sea sediments around the Antarctic, which occurred at the transition from the last ice age to the present warm period. Co-author Dr. Weber from the Steinmann Institute of the University of Bonn says: "The largest melt occurred 14,700 years ago. During this time the Antarctic contributed to a sea level rise of at least three meters within a few centuries."

…[/font][/font]
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep39979
4 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Climate change could trigger strong sea level rise (Original Post) OKIsItJustMe Jan 2017 OP
Maybe drumpf and the repubs will believe in climate change democratisphere Jan 2017 #1
Floods happen. Maybe Manhattan is sinking! OKIsItJustMe Jan 2017 #2
Plumbers provided lousy repairs at Trump Tower - Sad! No "Global Warming" Link, haters! hatrack Jan 2017 #3
LOL! OKIsItJustMe Jan 2017 #4

democratisphere

(17,235 posts)
1. Maybe drumpf and the repubs will believe in climate change
Thu Jan 5, 2017, 05:33 PM
Jan 2017

when they're sloshing through water in the Trump Tower Lobby.

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Environment & Energy»Climate change could trig...