Ice caps

[goku]

some say the ice caps are melting.

how do they know?

some say the earth is coming out of an ice age.

ice caps melting would be natural then wouldn't it?

the ocean is getting saltier, some say, makes sense.

wouldn't that melt more ice?

[Turtle]

some say the ice caps are melting.

how do they know?

some say the earth is coming out of an ice age.

ice caps melting would be natural then wouldn't it?

the ocean is getting saltier, some say, makes sense.

wouldn't that melt more ice?

___I saw a web page the other day with a series of satellite images of the North Pole; the dramatic shrinking of ice cover is very apparent.

___Some say the Earth is going into an ice age. The claim is that the extra heating is due to under-ocean volcanic activity increasing which is heating the water & driving all this extreme weather we're having of late. As the oceans warm, evaporation increases, then s precipitation increases in not only frequency but amplitude, then in Winter that means snowfalls of greater depth (happening already), which means longer to melt, which means growing ice, which means ice age. The melting going on in and near Greenland threatens to shut off the saline sink current & if that happens Europe is gonna freeze.

___Have to enter before I lose the post. :hihi:

[Fishteacher73]

The problem is that much of both sides is correct. It does appear that we are in a cyclic climatic system, and that the earth in the past has naturally gone through sudden climatic shifts over the eons. The two problems with this idea is that in the past we have had both slow and fast cycles, so we do not know for a fact that the climate change is occurring in complete natural order or being accelerated and influenced by man's actions.

 

The latter has some reasonably strong inferences through the variety of systems that are intimately linked to CO2 levels. Many of these systems have huge influences on climatic paterns(the carbon cycle, ocean currents, etc). It seems foolhardy to think that massive shifts in concentration will not alter these sytems.

 

Salts melt ice through the chemical process of being ionically dissolved. It is an exogenic reaction (ie it relases heat). This heat/energy comes from the breaking of the ionic salt molecule into free ions. In this state (already in solution) they will not cause ice to melt. They can however alter the density and physical properties of the sloution (such as freezing point).

[CraigD]

some say the ice caps are melting.

how do they know?

One very obvious way to note that polar ice is receding, without resorting to satellite or aerial photography, is to attempt the Northwest Passage.

 

For all of the 19th century, tens of expeditions tried and failed to force this passage. Amnuson make it in 3 years in 19??-19??. In the 1940s, boats like the St. Roch I still got stuck so much they took about as long.

 

Now, large, ice-breaking cruise ships make the passage on regular schedules. In 2000, the 66’ St. Roch II made it in 170 days, the fastest crossing by the smallest boat ever. These guys are planning on attempting it soon in a 47’ sailboat.

 

The Northwest Passage has essentially become open in summer.

 

The Earth has been through many long-term freeze and thaw cycles, and should actually be in a long-term freeze now. Except in the minds of people dead set on disputing anything that might be called “global warming”, it’s undeniable that we’re currently in a short-term thaw.

 

Paradoxically, the most severe possible consequence of this warming trend may result in a cooling trend along the North and Mid-Atlantic US coast and points inland. It’s worried that the decreased salinity of the North Atlantic, due to all that fresh polar melt water, may result in the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Drift may begin submerging and heading South at a point much further south than it currently does, or may slow down a lot. Without the heat it brings, the US Northeast could become Canada-like, which would be bad news for the regions farmers. :hihi:

[Turtle]

While N Polar ice is receding & many worlwide glaciers continue to retreat (in the Alps among others), some glaciers actually have grown. Oddly enough, the newest glacier in my neighborhood is Loowit, in the crater of Mt. St. Helens! :hihi: :cup:

[goku]

i seen a special one night about the south pole. scientists building a newly deigned research center. the problem with building on the south pole is that the structure will be covered with snow in a year or less, if i remember corectly. no wonder peices are breaking off, the thing is growing.

[Lemon]

the problem with building on the south pole is that the structure will be covered with snow in a year or less,

 

Precipitation is largely in the form of snow or hoar-frost rather than rain, which rarely exceeds 50 mm/2 in per year (less than the Sahara Desert). The minimal snow fall makes Antarctica one of the most arid deserts on Earth

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0016263.html

 

So, Anything being coverd in snow in a year or two seems a little... unlikely.