IMAGE: Earth Day and the Shrinking Ice Cap

www.livescience.com...

As celebrations go on today for the 2005 Earth Day, debate continues over how much of climate change is due to human activity and what can be done about it.

But there is little doubt that global warming is occurring. Over the last century the global average temperature has climbed about 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.6 of a degree Celsius).

The poles seem to be taking the brunt of this warming – with sea ice shrinking at a rate of 9% per decade. The above images show the change in the Arctic’s minimum sea ice concentration between 1979 (top) and 2003 (bottom).

The data comes from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI).

this is amazing (in a bad way):

1979 is the top image and 2003 is the bottom image...

the ice caps changed THAT much in such a SHORT amount of time!!!

ENJOY!!!





[edit on 25-4-2005 by they see ALL]

The only problem is I don't see the problem. I thought this was suppose to cause shoreline errosion. I don't see any in the second photo. Could it be that as our planet is heating up, water molecules begin to evaporate into the atmosphere at a much higher rate?

Originally posted by Frosty
The only problem is I don't see the problem. I thought this was suppose to cause shoreline errosion. I don't see any in the second photo. Could it be that as our planet is heating up, water molecules begin to evaporate into the atmosphere at a much higher rate?

a problem could be that the ice caps are melting and the ocean levels will rise because of this...

this is what i am aware of...