‘Fundamentally unstable’: Scientists confirm fears on E. Antarctica’s biggest glacier

mentalfloss

mentalfloss

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Jun 28, 2010
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‘Fundamentally unstable’: Scientists confirm fears on E. Antarctica’s biggest glacier

The Totten Glacier holds back more ice than any other in East Antarctica, which is itself the biggest ice mass in the world by far. Totten, which lies due south of Western Australia, currently reaches the ocean in the form of a floating shelf of ice that’s 90 miles by 22 miles in area. But the entire region, or what scientists call a “catchment,” that could someday flow into the sea in this area is over 200,000 square miles in size — bigger than California.

Moreover, in some areas that ice is close to 2.5 miles thick, with over a mile of that vertical extent reaching below the surface of the ocean. It’s the very definition of vast.

Warmer waters in this area could, therefore, ultimately be even more damaging than what’s happening in West Antarctica — and the total amount of ice that could someday be lost would raise sea levels by as much as 13 feet.

“This is not the first part of East Antarctica that’s likely to show a multi-meter response to climate change,” said Alan Aitken, the new study’s lead author and a researcher with the University of Western Australia in Perth. “But it might be the biggest in the end, because it’s continually unstable as you go towards the interior of the continent.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...rries-about-east-antarcticas-biggest-glacier/
 
Blackleaf

Blackleaf

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A new island has appeared in the Irish Sea just off Fleetwood, Lancashire. How has it done that if sea levels are supposed to be rising?
 
MHz

MHz

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To heat up the Greenland and the Antarctic from below the rifts must be expanding, since all 40,000 miles of them are on the deeper parts of the ocean each foot they expand the ocean can hold that much water without recording any rise on ocean levels.
One other part not taken into account is the floating ice would warm up and melt and that extra 1 1/2 miles of ice is dumped into the water and should new ice come from the land it will also melt. If the amount of heat released by the rift is enough it could melt all the ice or at come point the new ice will cool the water off enough that the outflow of ice stops.

Warmer water should also allow for bigger snowstorms as more moisture is in the air so as the ice is melting new ice is also being formed at the higher elevations.
 
Blackleaf

Blackleaf

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Greenland joined what is now the EU on 1st January 1973 as part of Denmark, along with the UK, Gibraltar (as part of the UK), and Rep of Ireland.

In 1985 the Greenlanders held an EU in/out referendum and voted 53% in favour of leaving. And so it left. As far as I know Greenland is still there and has not become victim to some of the unspeakable terrors that roam the vast, untamed wilderness of heathen barbarians outside the EU's civilising, protecting borders.

That's something that voters - including those in Gibraltar where the EU in/out referendum is also being held - need to bear in mind before 23rd June.
 
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MHz

MHz

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Blackleaf said:
. . . has not because victim to some of the unspeakable terrors that roam the vast, untamed wilderness of heathen barbarians outside the EU's civilising, protecting borders.
Click to expand...
Note to self: add Greenland as possible travel destination.
 
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