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Sealing the Fate of Antarctica
The American Spectator ^
| 12/20/2006
| Patrick J. Michaels
Posted on 12/20/2006 11:43:29 AM PST by neverdem
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To: steve-b
If the ice accumulates in a dessert (Antarctica) and sheds at a certain rate, it is still accumulating. If you increase the moisture content of the surrounding air (global warming) it will increase the accumulation of water/ice on the land area. If the ice was accumulating before what mechanism would cause it to accelerate the shedding to the point of net water loss?
21
posted on
12/20/2006 12:51:05 PM PST
by
kinoxi
To: Tenacious 1
You will have to start by explaining to him what ICE is. The stuff his former boss recommended putting on it?
22
posted on
12/20/2006 12:55:59 PM PST
by
steve-b
(It's hard to be religious when certain people don't get struck by lightning.)
To: massgopguy
I tried studying Boyle's Law in High School but I couldn't take the pressure.
Then we went on to Charles' Law and I couldn't take the heat.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
23
posted on
12/20/2006 12:57:23 PM PST
by
LonePalm
(Commander and Chef)
To: kinoxi
If the ice accumulates in a dessert (Antarctica) and sheds at a certain rate, it is still accumulating. If you increase the moisture content of the surrounding air (global warming) it will increase the accumulation of water/ice on the land area. If the ice was accumulating before what mechanism would cause it to accelerate the shedding to the point of net water loss? The relevant dynamics are:
1. Precipitation falls on the ice cap at a certain rate and freezes (if it wasn't frozen already). This increases the size of the ice cap.
2. When the ice cap gets thick enough to flow under pressure, parts of it get pushed out to sea, break off as icebergs, drift out into the ocean, and melt when they reach warmer regions. This decreases the size of the ice cap.
In the long term, these two processes balance out in equilibrium. If (for example) precipitation increases, the ice cap will thicken, build up more pressure, and flow faster, thus increasing the rate of iceberg formation and re-balancing the equilibrium.
24
posted on
12/20/2006 12:59:32 PM PST
by
steve-b
(It's hard to be religious when certain people don't get struck by lightning.)
To: neverdem
Soon real estate in Greenland will become very attractive.
25
posted on
12/20/2006 12:59:56 PM PST
by
MinorityRepublican
(Everyone that doesn't like what America and President Bush has done for Iraq can all go to HELL)
To: steve-b
Antarctica is a very large continent that has an obvious net gain of water on it's surface (accretion). If the amount of precipitation increases you believe that the rate of dispersement will increase proportionally. Is this correct?
26
posted on
12/20/2006 1:06:03 PM PST
by
kinoxi
To: neverdem
27
posted on
12/20/2006 1:07:02 PM PST
by
GreenAccord
(Alright, everyone. Rotate your tagline!)
To: neverdem
Everyone would get one's own penguin.
28
posted on
12/20/2006 1:40:58 PM PST
by
GSlob
To: massgopguy
"... when a star becomes a Red Giant. All the Inner Planets will go whoosh." So? It's not as if Earth were one of the major planets.
29
posted on
12/20/2006 2:01:29 PM PST
by
NicknamedBob
("Well," said the Asimov Robot, "A catenary is a sag, and a parabola is a droop.")
To: LonePalm
I was getting into Snell's Law, but I think he was a little crooked.
30
posted on
12/20/2006 2:03:03 PM PST
by
NicknamedBob
("Well," said the Asimov Robot, "A catenary is a sag, and a parabola is a droop.")
To: neverdem; DaveLoneRanger; cogitator
31
posted on
12/20/2006 2:23:26 PM PST
by
Tolerance Sucks Rocks
(“Don’t overestimate the decency of the human race.” —H. L. Mencken)
To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
I think, based on a lot of what I've read, that the main concern is Greenland, not Antarctica. I'd like to see Michaels provide some support for his opening statement.
To: NicknamedBob
Well, certainly bent.
I think you're forgetting Cole's Law.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
33
posted on
12/20/2006 4:45:46 PM PST
by
LonePalm
(Commander and Chef)
To: LonePalm
There's something fishy about Sturgeon's law, too.
And didn't Isaac Asimov propose Three Laws of Rebootics?
(By the way, I think Bode's Law has been repealed.)
34
posted on
12/20/2006 5:14:59 PM PST
by
NicknamedBob
("Well," said the Asimov Robot, "A catenary is a sag, and a parabola is a droop.")
To: Spok
I used to play golf at Drumlins, a course in central NY. The Drumlins were little hills left when a glacier shoved rocks, gravel and sand in front of it, and then left the pile when it melted.
Ice ages are really bad, and a little warmth that prevents one is a easy thing to tolerate. There is a stable climate: the iceball, where the earth is covered by snow and ice, there is no carbon dioxide, and most sunlight is reflected back into space.
35
posted on
12/20/2006 5:35:54 PM PST
by
donmeaker
(If the sky don't say "Surrender Dorothy!" then my ex wife is out of town.)
To: cogitator
36
posted on
12/20/2006 7:52:03 PM PST
by
neverdem
(May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
To: wardaddy; Joe Brower; Cannoneer No. 4; Criminal Number 18F; Dan from Michigan; Eaker; Jeff Head; ...
37
posted on
12/20/2006 8:04:49 PM PST
by
neverdem
(May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
To: neverdem
Al Gore? Al Gore? The name is vaguely familiar. Didn't used to be someone?
38
posted on
12/20/2006 8:58:07 PM PST
by
Valin
(History takes time. It is not an instant thing.)
To: neverdem
The watermelons aren't going to like this at all. Of course they'll just ignore it as it doesn't fit their political agenda. They won't be happy until the entire world is a U.N. Biosphere Reserve and most of the people have been euthanized.
39
posted on
12/20/2006 9:03:17 PM PST
by
dljordan
To: kinoxi
"It's not floating (on water), it's a continent. I understand the displacement effect but it does not apply to Antarctica in general."
I'd like to see what it looks like without the ice. I wonder if the ice was gone there would be some kind of rebound effect in the crust and it would rise?
40
posted on
12/20/2006 9:05:39 PM PST
by
dljordan
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