Greenland's Ice will get thicker before it gets thinner. Or is it the other way around?
October 23, 2005 10:39 PM   Subscribe

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Greenland?
posted by b1tr0t (15 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- frimble



 
It seems to me that there's a lot of interesting stuff going on in Greenland, and you can't just look at one specific area of it and make claims. I've read reports of some areas thawing out, and reports of other areas "thickening up" (if that's a term). It's definitely something to look into, but expect the media to pick the more alarmist side and hype that.
posted by nightchrome at 10:45 PM on October 23, 2005


So if its thickening its probably because of global warming and if its melting then its probably because of global warming.....ok.
posted by Ron at 10:52 PM on October 23, 2005


Mmm, whiskey.
posted by S.C. at 11:01 PM on October 23, 2005


There are a number of places where the warmer conditions immediately at the end of the last ice age actually increased the size of glaciers, since warm air could hold more water and yet it was still cold enough to snow. For example, glacial maximum (measured by ice) was 14,500 years ago on Vancouver Island, whereas climatic minimum (maximum coldness) was 18,000 years ago or so (C-14 years). So it is entirely possible for increased snowfall to be associated with the global warming. The point being: apparently contradictory patterns can be entirely consistent within such a complex system as Earth's climate.

This (PDF) is an excellent, readable, yet authoritative account of the current arctic global warming situation. It is not a fun read. Getting this kind of news filtered through the news media is obviously pretty hit and miss.
posted by Rumple at 11:02 PM on October 23, 2005


Aha!! Just as I predicted!
posted by Balisong at 11:19 PM on October 23, 2005


Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Wilco?
posted by keswick at 11:22 PM on October 23, 2005


This is a perfect example of why the more precise members of the scientific community like to call it 'anthropogenic climate change' rather than 'global warming'. It's a big big system (none bigger that interest us) and local fluctuations such as increased ice caps due to more wet snow are the type of thing that happens. This provides a big fat zero amount of evidence to 'throw the entire global warming theory into doubt' which no doubt some astroturf pundit will soon claim.
posted by wilful at 11:34 PM on October 23, 2005


"And in a span of about 1,000 years, he added, the Greenland ice sheet may disappear, raising Earth’s sea level by about six meters (20 feet)."

Hardly sounds like a major threat at the average rate of a quarter inch per year...

Has anyone read this article on a possible quick fix?
posted by hjo3 at 12:49 AM on October 24, 2005


It would be neat if posts gave the vaguest idea what they were about without having to click. Maybe it's just me.
posted by kjh at 12:49 AM on October 24, 2005


hjo3, I imagine that prediction concerns only the disappearance of Greenland's ice sheet. If Greenland's is going, then I imagine more are to follow.
posted by Plinko at 1:34 AM on October 24, 2005


Yeah, b1tr0t, you suck at the front page posts.
--PJ
posted by Plinko at 1:35 AM on October 24, 2005


The title and post text would have been better, reversed.

Consider that climate change could disrupt the Gulf Stream, which would affect the climate of the upper Atlantic -- making it cooler. It isn't all one way.
posted by dhartung at 3:29 AM on October 24, 2005


I find all of this irreducibly complex...
posted by kosem at 5:53 AM on October 24, 2005


It would be neat if posts gave the vaguest idea what they were about without having to click. Maybe it's just me.

I thought using the phonetic alphabet for WTF was pretty clever. Or maybe I just like thinking.
posted by damnthesehumanhands at 11:00 AM on October 24, 2005


You rang?
posted by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot at 2:55 PM on October 24, 2005


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