Sea Levels May Rise Suddenly

[Wise Young]

The following article seemed unnecessarily alarmist to me until I read through it. All of a sudden, it seemed not so far-fetched.

http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/?id=5803

Sea Levels May Rise Suddenly
04-Dec-2006


Ross Ice Shelf
Scientists have determined that the Ross Ice Shelf in the Antarctic could collapse without warning in a matter of days, causing a disastrous worldwide sea level rise of sixteen feet. If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet behind it were to then slide into the sea, the increase in sea levels would reach a catastrophic level of over fifty feet, and essentially destroy every coastal city in the world.

Evidence obtained from Antarctic ice cores indicates that the Ross Ice Shelf will collapse, and that the disaster will be sudden, as has happened in the past when, for natural reasons, earth has experienced global warming events such as the one we are causing now. It is not clear when the shelf will fail, but the Larsen Ice Shelf disintegrated in 2002 virtually without warning. The melting of the Larsen shelf did not cause an increase in sea levels because the ice was already floating. This is not true of the entire Ross Shelf, and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is on land, and thus would add its over eighteen million cubic miles of water to the oceans.

The New Zealand Herald reports that the Ross Ice Shelf is a huge piece of ice the size of France. An ice drilling team from New Zealand has discovered that cores from the ice shelf contain three million years of climate history. They reveal that the Ross Ice Shelf has suddenly collapsed in the past.

<more>

Here is an animation of what would happen to Miami if the water level were to rise just 1.5 feet combined with a storm surge.
http://www.net.org/warming/animations/Miami.mov (quicktime)
http://www.net.org/warming/animations/Miami.wmv (windows media)
http://www.net.org/globalwarming/sea_level/

[Shannon]

Yikes.

It's frightening how many more natural disasters we've had recently compared to when I was a kid.

[Buck503]

And i've been thinking about moving back to Manzanita, Oregon.

Maybe i'll stay a little more inland.

[rdf]

I'd stay buck, you'll have some ocean front property in arizona for sale, and make a bundle

Seriously, it's scarier than hell to think about this happening. This country, and this world has to change its ways asap. I hope it isn't already too late.

I read an article yesterday saying the Arctic will be mainly ice-free by 2040 in the summer, and that was best-case. Polar bears are already dying out, and might not make it if they can't adapt fast enough.

All around the world we see evidence of climate change. It may be just a cycle that happens every so many thousands of years, but if that's the case, helping it along its way and helping it come faster isn't too smart.

Arctic ice could disappear in summer by 2040: study

Global warming could melt almost all of the ice in the Arctic during the summer months by the year 2040, according to a study to be published Tuesday.

If greenhouse gases continue to build at their current rate, the study found, the Arctic's ice cover would go through periods of stability followed by abrupt retreat.

One simulation projects that by 2040, only a small amount of perennial ice would remain on the north coasts of Greenland and Canada during the summer months.

This would be a more dramatic change in Arctic climate than anything we've seen so far, according to McGill University professor Bruno Tremblay, one of the study's authors. And it would also have a profound impact on global warming around the world, he said.

"Open water absorbs more sunlight than does ice," Tremblay told CBC News Online. "This means that the growing regions of ice-free water will accelerate.

More



Google this story and you'll get more info, it's all over the place.

[Buck503]

Originally Posted by rdf

I'd stay buck, you'll have some ocean front property in arizona for sale, and make a bundle

You know what, i'm gonna put it on the market tomorrow!

[kenf]

there was an article on some beluga whales being trapped in the artic because the ice cover on the water happen earlier then usual. they have like two breathing holes and soon they will cover up. they went there to kill them and harvest them so they would not suffer. global warming must of missed that area.

[Lindox]

Originally Posted by kenf

there was an article on some beluga whales being trapped in the artic because the ice cover on the water happen earlier then usual. they have like two breathing holes and soon they will cover up. they went there to kill them and harvest them so they would not suffer. global warming must of missed that area.

Not necessarily. As the Artic SUMMERS become warmer and more ice melts it raises the water levels which in turn might ice up faster in the winter months forming more ice that will over melt in the summer months.

[Wise Young]

Melting of the arctic will not raise seawater levels because the ice is already in the water. They are already displacing their mass, whether they are solid or water. This should make Archimedes proud with his Eureka.

The problem with the Ross shelf and other places where the ice is now on land. The addition of that huge ice mass into the water will cause an average seawater rise of 16 feet. That is whether the ice melts or not. Even if the ice mass is just floating, it adds to the volume of the world's sea water by something like 18,000 cubic miles or some huge number.

The fact that this could happen overnight is particularly frightening because it means that there will be no way of evacuating the people. Millions of people will die. It would be without question the worst natural disaster in history. The question is what can be done about this problem.

The scenario of Miami and New York flooding from just a 2-3 feet rise in sea level is bad enough. A 16 feet rise would place almost every coastal city in the world underwater, except those that are perched on a cliff. This is aside from other effects such as changes in the salinity of the water as the ice melts and other things are that too complicated to model or to think about.

1. One way is to move all the cities and human dwellings inland to the higher land that is at a height of 20 feet or more above sea level. A lot of land would be lost.

2. Another possibility is to build 20 feet dikes around all the major cities.

3. A third may be to use explosives to break off manageable chunks and use tugboats move the icebergs to dry places and use the water to irrigate the land and form lakes. The sahara desert for example can be changed into a lake of 18,000 cubic miles...

Anything else that you can think of?

Wise.

[alhavel]

Yes,

Before Buck gets oceanfront in Arizona, I will have Oceanfront on Long Island, I already have Ocean Veiw, Ocean Front is the next stop. CA-CHING$$$$$

[Wise Young]

Originally Posted by alhavel

Yes,

Before Buck gets oceanfront in Arizona, I will have Oceanfront on Long Island, I already have Ocean Veiw, Ocean Front is the next stop. CA-CHING$$$$$

Yes, it is an opportunity as well for those who don't believe that the ocean level will rise and therefore will be able to buy up ocean front property cheap as scared people leave. It may not happen for another 50 years... or more.

Another thought is that it is not that bad of a gamble since a rise in the sea level by 16 feet will be such a disaster and create such chaos, all property values would be meaningless as the powerful take the space from the weak...

Wise.