Posted on 06/13/2014 11:53:12 AM PDT by Up Yours Marxists
The Thwaites glacier is one of the most rapidly changing in Antarctica. It’s been the focus of considerable attention in recent weeks, after scientists suggested that this sector of the huge West Antarctic Ice Sheet was already on route towards collapse due to warming ocean temperatures. A major collapse of this part of the ice sheet could have dire consequences worldwide, with a global sea level rise of potentially up to 1m. Some models suggest this could take place comparatively rapidly, within a few centuries.
But hidden beneath the kilometres of ice in this rapidly changing part of the continent is a largely unexplored geological feature: the West Antarctic Rift System, a strip of volcanic activity thought to extend for more than 3,000km across the Antarctic continent, provides further heat to melt the ice sheet from below.
The rift is where the Earth’s crust has in the past been stretched, pushing magma near to the surface and causing widespread volcanic activity. It’s important to establish the amount of volcanic heat from the rift in order to more accurately predict the response of the Thwaites glacier and entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet to the effects of a warming climate and ocean.
(Excerpt) Read more at theconversation.com ...
Bush's fault...
More manmade warming!!!!!!
I thought that was the one under Haiti?
Don’t believe these scientists.
It is: Global Warming, Climate Change, Global Warming, Climate Change, Global Warming, Climate Change, Global Warming, Climate Change, Global Warming, Climate Change, Global Warming, Climate Change, Global Warming, Climate Change, Global Warming, Climate Change.
Invest in wind turbines and solar panels.
Wait...I thought the phrase du jour is “global climate disruption??”
Climate Diversity?
What??? I don’t understand? You mean ice melts when hot molten magma rises up from the Earth’s core directly underneath the polar cap. And all this time I thought it was cow farts and letting my SUV idle to long in the driveway.
So what do the OTHER models suggest?
An interesting fact about Antarctica is that there is a frigid ocean flow, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), circling this island continent that basically keeps it in the 'deep freeze.' Just because a chunk of ice breaks off, if it remains in the confines of this area, it will melt very slowly, if at all.
More manmade warming!!!!!!
Swift action must immediately be taken to appease gaia! I can see only one solution we must sacrifice her acolytes until she is sated, even if it takes all of them, I suggest we start with manbearpig since he is the high priest of her followers.
Not to worry, Al Gore will fix it.
In another article at Geology.com they were tracking some indications that this has been quite active for at least 5,000 years. I hope the funding is there for more study but some of the weasel words at the end about understanding this in terms of the larger global warming makes me wonder if the rifting will be studiously ignored. Cynical, huh?
The East African Rift and America’s Basin and Range Province are relatively recent but that still means millions of years. Death Valley has a complex geology but the thinning of the crust goes back two or three million years while Africa’s rift is at least 16 myo. So, yes 5,000 years is really brief. Intrusive granite could fit such a time frame, I guess. It would certainly explain the heat near the surface.
Don’t you just hate it when your volcano is hotter than expected?
The increasing temperature of the magma is because of all the CO2 that humanity is spewing into the atmosphere. Algore said so! Excelsior!
How can you say *that*? After all,it's not settled science.
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