Prehistoric glacial melting similar to concerns about Antarctica

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2011/aug/ancient-glacial-melting-similar-concerns-about-antarctica

Prehistoric glacial melting similar to concerns about Antarctica

8-1-11

CORVALLIS, Ore. – An analysis of prehistoric “Heinrich events” that happened many thousands of years ago, creating mass discharges of icebergs into the North Atlantic Ocean, make it clear that very small amounts of subsurface warming of water can trigger a rapid collapse of ice shelves.

The findings, to be published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide historical evidence that warming of water by 3-4 degrees was enough to trigger these huge, episodic discharges of ice from the Laurentide Ice Sheet in what is now Canada.

The results are important, researchers say, due to concerns that warmer water could cause a comparatively fast collapse of ice shelves in Antarctica or Greenland, increasing the flow of ice into the ocean and raising sea levels. One of the most vulnerable areas, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, would raise global sea level by about 11 feet if it were all to melt.

…

If water were to warm by about 2 degrees under the ice shelves that are found along the edges of much of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Marcott said, it might greatly increase the rate of melting to more than 30 feet a year. This could cause many of the ice shelves to melt in less than a century, he said, and is probably the most likely mechanism that could create such rapid changes of the ice sheet.

…

http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1104772108

:scared:

[sakabatou]

1. If Antarctica melts, we're in trouble.

[DCBob]

2. The theory is that is the ice shelfs collapse then there would be nothing holding back the land ice.

Therefore the land ice might move faster into the ocean. Its just a theory but it makes perfect sense.

[Riftaxe]

3. Darn Mastadons driving their SUV's...

:P