Greenland's Melt Mystery Unfolds, At Glacial Pace

[David Zephyr]

Source: AP

HELHEIM GLACIER, Greenland – Suddenly and without warning, the gigantic river of ice sped up, causing it to spit icebergs ever faster into the ocean off southeastern Greenland.

Helheim Glacier nearly doubled its speed in just a few years, flowing through a rift in the barren coastal mountains at a stunning 100 feet (30 meters) per day.

Alarm bells rang as the pattern was repeated by glaciers across Greenland: Was the island's vast ice sheet, a frozen water reservoir that could raise the sea level 20 feet if disgorged, in danger of collapse?

Fearing that a possible deal is in danger, European foreign ministers announced Thursday they were stepping up efforts to make sure that nations around the world face up to global warming. Even a partial melt of the ice sheet could have a big impact on sea levels, with dire consequences for low-lying areas from Florida to Bangladesh.




Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090910/ap_on_sc/climate_09_greenland_s_melt

[RedCloud]

1. Many folks live by the coast. Shall they be swept away?

[troubledamerican]

5. Yes, but maybe not how you're implying.

I'm willing to bet that rising sea levels have an effect on tectonic plates.

Water weight pressure on ocean plates = more earthquakes (and not just undersea quakes) = other tsunamis in our lifetime.

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. Not to mention that the melt, at the same time, relieves the pressure

caused by the weight of the ice on land, so as weight is increased in the oceans, weight is lessened on land resulting in the land 'bowing' up, creating even more instability in the tectonic plates.

The earthquakes caused by the great melting of the ice sheets 12,000 years ago left us with the legends of Atlantis and the Great Flood and possibly caused the creation of the very idea of 'gods'.

This won't be nearly as drastic as that, with sea levels rising 180', but it could be memorable.

[troubledamerican]

13. A fellow Velikovskian?

Good point about the offset weight on land.

Here's a thought:

Does ice at the poles stabilize the axis?

Does the removal of that polar weight destabilize the axis of the planet?

Read about the first frozen mammoths found in Siberia. It is recorded that they had fresh undigested daisies in their stomachs, as though they were "flash-frozen" in springtime.

Velikovsky records worldwide legends of four separate "axis shifts", especially in ancient Chinese history. Hebrew has different specific terms for the sun that sets in the east, and the sun that sets in the west...

[Odin2005]

14. What a load of crap.

[Janie Jones]

16. The Great Flood

Do you think the Great Flood is just a legend and, if it really happened as the most ancient stories of many peoples recount, what caused it?

[truthisfreedom]

2. Read the article. That excerpt is not a good indicator of what this writer is conveying.

[David Zephyr]

7. It's a fascinating article. We don't get much news like this here.

The excerpts are the first three paragraphs. I chose the one about the EU as the fourth (and that's the limit we can post) because the EU is leading the world on this issue.

The title of the article (which is the actual one and the one DU rules require us to use -- and which is a good one) could have been better.

[Control-Z]

3. The title of this piece

is a bit misleading. Good article, though. I'm so impressed with the efforts of research scientists and all involved in the study of climate change.

[David Zephyr]

6. Yeah, but that's the real title and I follow the DU rules strictly.

I agree with you about the title.

It's a fascinating article which is why I posted it.

[Control-Z]

9. I wasn't blaming you for the title. lol

I noticed that it was from the article.

[David Zephyr]

10. LOL.

:) It was an odd title.

[Bigmack]

4. Goodbye

Thermohaline current. But who needs a warn current flowing north in the Atlantic? Ms Bigmack

[Old Time Pagan]

8. Hans Brinker returns to skate on the frozen canals of Holland

Yeah, what kind of detremental change can a piddly temperature drop of 4 to 6 degrees centigrade cause in an energy starved world? No worries, just let that conveyor belt shut down. Those folks in Western Europe and Scandinavia can just wear more sweaters.

[David Zephyr]

11. Welcome to the DU, Old Time Pagan.

Great name you have, too.

Seriously, I wish more focus was on the ocean conveyor. Thanks for mentioning it. I do it here periodically without trying to sound crazier than I already sound. But it is slowing. :hi:

[Odin2005]

15. We're screwed!

Brought to you by a glacier called "home of hell" :scared: