Here's a flash of reality that is actually on topic.
Greenland's glaciers melting faster, say scientists
Greenland's glaciers are melting 30 faster than they were a decade ago, satellite images reveal.
Christian Science Monitor
By Jennifer Welsh, LiveScience Staff Writer
May 3, 2012
(excerpts)
Greenland's ice sheet is on the move, with new images showing its glaciers moving 30 percent faster than they were a decade ago. Greenland and Antarctica are home to the two biggest blocks of ice on Earth. As climate changes, these glacier are shrinking and the water contained in them is moving into the oceans, adding to the already rising sea level. The researchers analyzed satellite images of the Greenland glaciers taken between 2000 and 2010. These annual images were put through a computer program to detect how quickly the ice is moving. In general, the glacial flow has sped up by 30 percent over the 10 years, Moon said.
To get a better idea of the glacier's dynamics, the researchers looked at the area's more than 200 glaciers individually. Some of these glaciers end on land, some drop off into the sea, and the rest gradually extend their ice sheets into the water, creating an ice shelf. The researchers saw that the glacier's type has a big impact on how quickly it flows. Land-ending ice sheets can move 30 to 325 feet (9 to 99 meters) per year, while glaciers that terminate in ice shelves move much faster, from 1,000 to more than 5,000 feet (305 to 1,600 m) per year. The glaciers that drop off into the sea are flowing the fastest, Moon said, up to 7 miles (11 kilometers) per year and their speeds are accelerating. "The areas where the ice sheet loses the most ice are also the areas we are seeing the biggest changes," Moon said.
"A lot of the drive behind current Greenland ice sheet and Antarctica studies is to ask, 'What sea-level rise can we expect?'" Moon said. "Both of these areas hold vast amounts of ice and the potential for very large sea-level rises. We need to understand what's happening on them to see what potential scenario will be realized." The study is to be published tomorrow (May 4) in the journal Science.
Both of these areas hold vast amounts of ice and the potential for very large sea-level rises.
What is "very large seal level rises?
Now the experts tell us that:
Glaciers store about 69% of the world's freshwater, and if all land ice melted the seas would rise about 70 meters (about 230 feet).
Glaciers and icecaps, USGS Water Science for Schools water-information site
WOW 230 feet if all the glaciers melted!
WOW..
So with 57,491,000 square miles of land..
and with 5,773,000,000,000,000,000 (5.7 quintillion gallons in all the Ice caps,Glaciers),..
and it all melted it would add to all the oceans seas, bays with 321 quintillion gallons that would be equal to adding 1.74% to the oceans.
That is equal to adding to a 648,000 gallon Olympic sized pool at 9 feet 10 inches
2 inches!
In Florida the commonly used example of land being covered by melting glaciers, the gulf of Mexico is a depth of less then 100 feet for over 100 miles from shore.
1.74% increase of water due to melting of all glaciers would add 1.7 feet.
NOT perceivable nor affecting life much less covering the state!
So where did these experts get 230 feet!!!