Earth on the Brink of an Ice Age

[KMAN]

Let's hope the liberals don't do anything to make it even colder....

Earth on the Brink of an Ice Age - Pravda.Ru

 

[Andrew2382]

must be that global warming

 

[Chris]

KMAN is quoting Pravda?

 

[Tech_Esq]

That was on my thread too. Also the Tech Notes article that said that the sea ice was at 1979 levels. Sorry Chris

 

[Amanda]

I don't understand how global warming is supposed to lead to an ice age. Seems kinda counterintuitive.

 

[Dis]

Let's hope the liberals don't do anything to make it even colder....

Earth on the Brink of an Ice Age - Pravda.Ru

That's not Earth. That's just Wisconsin.

 

[sealybobo]

I don't understand how global warming is supposed to lead to an ice age. Seems kinda counterintuitive.

Global warming is just the term we use to describe it. If you can get it out of your head that it always means WARMING, then maybe it'll be easier for you to understand.

We're causing climate change. That could mean the polar caps completely melt in the summer, and raise water levels 40 feet.

Or, we could be causing the ice to completely freeze over in the winter, and that too could kill off seals and polar bears.

 

[michaelX9011]

How could you separate the difference between us causing the effects, or the effects just being created by the Earth's geological cycle? Are we effecting the Earth's evolution?

 

[Old Rocks]

That was on my thread too. Also the Tech Notes article that said that the sea ice was at 1979 levels. Sorry Chris

Sorry that you do not know your ass from a hole in the ground. Here are the actual facts on the current extent of the arctic ice;

Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis

 

[Old Rocks]

How could you separate the difference between us causing the effects, or the effects just being created by the Earth's geological cycle? Are we effecting the Earth's evolution?

OK. Here are the facts. The earth is warming. Warming rapidly, and the warming is accelerating. All but two of the warmest ten years recorded have been in this century. And those two exceptions were 1997 and 1998.

So, what is causing the warming? The sun? No, we have satellite records of the total solar irradiance for the last fifty years, and it has hardly changed, may have actualy diminished an insignificant amount. Has there been unusual volcanic activity? No, in fact the last century was a rather mild one in terms of volcanic eruptions. So, what has changed?

Well, we added about 40% more CO2 to the atmosphere. And and about 250% more CH4. As well as other even more potent industrial gases. In the geological record there have been other periods of rapid increases in GHGs. Most of the time they led to periods of major or minor extinctions. The last time the CO2 level reached 300 ppm, the oceans were about 3 meters higher than at present. Today, we have 385+ ppm in the atmosphere. That will have a major impact in the coming years. More importantly, we are increasing that amount every year.

 

[52ndStreet]

How could the Earth be on the Brink of an Ice Age, when scientist say the Summers have been getting progressively warmer, and scientist have just recently stated that the Winters are warmer now for the past 10 years!?.They have meteorlogical data that
proves that the Earth is getting Warmer, not colder.
Here is a link for all you skeptics, www.ktul.com/blogs/weather/winters_are_getting_warmer_.html

 

[Missourian]

Sorry that you do not know your ass from a hole in the ground. Here are the actual facts on the current extent of the arctic ice;

Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis

O.R., why do you only post about artic ice and totally ignore antartic ice?


In a surprising departure from other findings that point to a warming planet, a NASA researcher has found that the amount of ice in the Antarctic increased from 1979 to 1999, as measured by satellites.

Many recent findings have detailed the decline of the ice cap in the Arctic, at the top of the world. These new results from the Southern Hemisphere imply that global climate change involves regional variations.

Changes in ice cover are important not only because they indicate temperature changes that have occurred; the changes can effect future temperatures. With more ice, more solar radiation is reflected away from Earth. The ice also insulates oceans from the atmosphere. Less ice has the opposite effects.

In the new study, published in the Annals of Glaciology, Claire Parkinson of NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center analyzed the length of the sea ice season throughout the Southern Ocean to obtain trends in sea ice coverage. On average, the area where sea ice seasons have lengthened by at least one day per year is roughly twice as large as the area where sea ice seasons have shortened by at least one day per year.

"You can see with this dataset that what is happening in the Antarctic is not what would be expected from a straightforward global warming scenario, but a much more complicated set of events," Parkinson said.



SPACE.com -- Antarctic Sea Ice Increases over Past Two Decades

 

[52ndStreet]

Methane is also a "Earth cyclical climate change" accelerating gas, that is being released in greater quantities.From melting Arctic and Ant- Artic ice., and from melting bogs in western Siberia, in Russia.

 

[Old Rocks]

I don't understand how global warming is supposed to lead to an ice age. Seems kinda counterintuitive.

Amanda, about 13,000 years ago, as the globe was leaving an ice age, and entering an interglacial period, a huge amount of fresh water drained out of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, and into the Atlantic Ocean in a relitively brief period. This caused the thermohaline circulation to shut down.

The thermohaline circulation operates by ocean water warmed by the tropical and temprerate sun flowing north. Since a lot of water has been evaporated, the water has a higher percentage of salt than other ocean water. As it flows north, it also cools, giving up it's heat to the atmosphere in the high north latitudes. This is why northern Europe has a relitively mild climate, in spite of its latitude. As it cools, it becomes even more dense than the water arround it. It sinks to near the ocean floor, and flows south, to surface again in the tropics.

If you introduce a large amount of fresh water into this stream, it is no longer heavy enough to sink, and just sits there, getting colder and colder. Then the atmospheric currents are carrying cold air, rather than warm air into Northern Europe.

For more reading and probably a more lucid explanation go here;Thermohaline circulation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Old Rocks]

O.R., why do you only post about artic ice and totally ignore antartic ice?


In a surprising departure from other findings that point to a warming planet, a NASA researcher has found that the amount of ice in the Antarctic increased from 1979 to 1999, as measured by satellites.

Many recent findings have detailed the decline of the ice cap in the Arctic, at the top of the world. These new results from the Southern Hemisphere imply that global climate change involves regional variations.

Changes in ice cover are important not only because they indicate temperature changes that have occurred; the changes can effect future temperatures. With more ice, more solar radiation is reflected away from Earth. The ice also insulates oceans from the atmosphere. Less ice has the opposite effects.

In the new study, published in the Annals of Glaciology, Claire Parkinson of NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center analyzed the length of the sea ice season throughout the Southern Ocean to obtain trends in sea ice coverage. On average, the area where sea ice seasons have lengthened by at least one day per year is roughly twice as large as the area where sea ice seasons have shortened by at least one day per year.

"You can see with this dataset that what is happening in the Antarctic is not what would be expected from a straightforward global warming scenario, but a much more complicated set of events," Parkinson said.



SPACE.com -- Antarctic Sea Ice Increases over Past Two Decades

I do not ignore Antarctic Ice. As a matter of fact, the seasonal Antarctic Ice has increased, even as there is a decrease in the amount of continental ice. A surprising decrease, for virually all the models predict more snowfall in contintental Antarctica, and that has been observed. Yet the warming is melting the ice faster than the increased precipitation is adding to it.

 

[Old Rocks]

Amanda, about 13,000 years ago, as the globe was leaving an ice age, and entering an interglacial period, a huge amount of fresh water drained out of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, and into the Atlantic Ocean in a relitively brief period. This caused the thermohaline circulation to shut down.

The thermohaline circulation operates by ocean water warmed by the tropical and temprerate sun flowing north. Since a lot of water has been evaporated, the water has a higher percentage of salt than other ocean water. As it flows north, it also cools, giving up it's heat to the atmosphere in the high north latitudes. This is why northern Europe has a relitively mild climate, in spite of its latitude. As it cools, it becomes even more dense than the water arround it. It sinks to near the ocean floor, and flows south, to surface again in the tropics.

If you introduce a large amount of fresh water into this stream, it is no longer heavy enough to sink, and just sits there, getting colder and colder. Then the atmospheric currents are carrying cold air, rather than warm air into Northern Europe.

For more reading and probably a more lucid explanation go here;Thermohaline circulation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I see I did not finish this thought. The flood from the huge lake in the Laurentide Ice Sheet caused a plunge back into Ice Age temperatures that lasted for 1300 years. That is the basis for the hypothesis that the melting of the Greenland Ice Cap has the potential of creating a much colder Northern Europe and even North America. I myself doubt this, as I think that the heat retained during the summer in the open Arctic Ocean will create an overall warmer climate.

 

[xsited1]

 

[Chris]

So what is happening in Antarctica? The cooling is due to a strengthening of the circular winds around the continent, which prevent warmer air reaching its interior. The increased wind speeds seem to be a result of cooling in the upper atmosphere, caused by the hole in the ozone layer above the pole, which is of course the result of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) pollution.

Confusingly, it appears that one human impact on the climate - the Antarctic ozone hole - is currently compensating for another, global warming. If the ozone layer recovers over the decades as expected, the circular winds could weaken, resulting in rapid warming.

Climate myths: Antarctica is getting cooler, not warmer, disproving global warming - environment - 16 May 2007 - New Scientist

 

[KMAN]

Global warming is just the term we use to describe it. If you can get it out of your head that it always means WARMING, then maybe it'll be easier for you to understand.

We're causing climate change. That could mean the polar caps completely melt in the summer, and raise water levels 40 feet.

Or, we could be causing the ice to completely freeze over in the winter, and that too could kill off seals and polar bears.

So now an increase in CO2 causes warming and cooling...

 

[KittenKoder]

Off Topic: That movie sucks.

On Topic: That movie sucks.