NASA finds Antarctic ice shelf a few years from disintegration

Don't have time to give an in-depth analysis of the article but just want to post here on ATS for discussion. Read the article and tell me what yopu guys think.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The last intact section of one of Antarctica's mammoth ice shelves is weakening fast and will likely disintegrate completely in the next few years, contributing further to rising sea levels, according to a NASA study released on Thursday.

The research focused on a remnant of the so-called Larsen B Ice Shelf, which has existed for at least 10,000 years but partially collapsed in 2002. What is left covers about 625 square miles (1,600 square km), about half the size of Rhode Island.

What says ATS?

news.yahoo.com...

a reply to: lostbook

Very sad news... And I'm sure the usual contingent of science deniers will be along shortly to say that there is nothing to see here, we aren't causing this problem at all and that AGW is a lie.

I saw this yesterday. Bad news for sea level rise, ice shelves serve as two way barriers. They keep the warmer waters from getting to land ice, as well as keeping glaciers from traveling to the sea. Because of the deterioration of this ice shelf, the glaciers it controls have already sped up their trip to the sea.

It may even be worse then they think .Here are some predictions that we can test in real time .

Thanks for sharing

a reply to: Krazysh0t

I guess time will tell if fact or fiction. I do not doubt the science of this but am skeptic of the man-made theory. Not being privy to ALL documentation making this claim and understanding there are groups who work for bosses such as BG or the BIS, control the science then you control the people.

Sooo, its going to break but hasn't yet and further global warming?

What are the ocean temperatures there?

Freeezing…

Thanks for the info, suppose the land based ice will be making it to the sea a lot faster now.
How many inches should the sea level rise on land based ice only. Ice sitting on the water already isn't going to raise the ocean any more than it already is.

Too bad we can't capture that ice and import it to Cali

originally posted by: Ultralight
a reply to: Krazysh0t

I guess time will tell if fact or fiction. I do not doubt the science of this but am skeptic of the man-made theory. Not being privy to ALL documentation making this claim and understanding there are groups who work for bosses such as BG or the BIS, control the science then you control the people.

Erm... Time IS telling that it is fact. That is what the OP is about. AGW is causing the Antarctic ice to disappear.

Speaking of controlling groups. The oil industries COMPLETELY bankroll the AGW denialism science. THEY are the bad guys that aren't to be trusted. If you are stating an AGW denial buzzphrase like "I believe that climate change is real, but I'm not sure if man is causing it", you are repeating a phrase thought up by some sleazy oil rep.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Yup and in 50 years when things are really bad they still will deny it haha.

A few months ago a rogue wave by me struck a restaurant and did some damage. They bring in trucks of sand constantly to fix the beaches here.

a reply to: AzureSky

"ice sitting on the water already isn't going to raise the ocean any more than it already is"

Are you certain of this? I think it's fair to assume the densities would differ (with fresh water being contained in the ice shelf) therefore the water level would certainly rise but not by much. 4 cm's, the oceans would rise, if ALL of the ice shelfs on the planet floating on the water were to melt, according to this article.

smithplanet.com...

"If all of that ice were to melt, what impact would it have on the ocean levels? If both the ice and the sea water were both fresh water (or both salt water), it would have no impact at all (excluding all other factors, such as water temperature). But because of the difference in salinity (density) of the sea water and the ice, the increase in volume would be about 2.6% of the volume of the melted ice water, which when added to the volume of the oceans, would raise the ocean level only about 4 centimeters (1.5 inches). Details here.

Note that this only accounts for floating sea ice. The total amount of non-floating Arctic and Antarctic ice is about 50 times higher, and because this is not currently floating (and displacing sea water), if it were all to melt the sea levels would rise significantly.

It's all based on science. We apparently need to worry when the land ice starts to melt.

originally posted by: GreenMachine
Too bad we can't capture that ice and import it to Cali

Why would you want to do that? That water is salted. It would have to go through desalinization before you could use it, but if that was feasible Cali would already be doing that with the ocean water that hits its beaches.

a reply to: KewlDaddyFatty

Well from my understanding of it ...if the oceans are heated they will expand. So it is more than just the ice melting. There is also the issue of salinity difference. That could completely change the flow of oceans which could lead to all kinds of changes in weather. I actually think the ice melting and salinity difference will have the greater affect than just ocean levels rising. But humans are resilient...they will survive.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: GreenMachine
Too bad we can't capture that ice and import it to Cali

Why would you want to do that? That water is salted. It would have to go through desalinization before you could use it, but if that was feasible Cali would already be doing that with the ocean water that hits its beaches.

I thought glaciers where frozen snow. Why would it be salted?

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

They are fresh water

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

Well I just learned something new.

Icebergs

A glacier is formed as layers upon layers of snow are compacted. As new snow falls, older layers are compressed into dense ice. Glacial ice is made of frozen fresh water (not salt water); glaciers contain the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth.

www.enchantedlearning.com...

I got a question. The link says that this ice is 10k years old. So what was going on 11 years ago?
I'm not being a smart ass either. The planet was warmer right?

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

it was the end of the last glacial period

edit: sorry ill get more detailed...end of the ice age...in terms of total temperature of the planet im not sure but the planet most likely was warming as a whole. But you have to look at individual areas. For example: you know how some people say the ice is melting on the south pole but others are saying it is increasing? It is actually melting but wind patterns have spread the ice out further to one side making it appear it is expanding but the mass of ice is less. Deniers often try to point out the temporary wind patterns as signs the south pole is growing.