Glaciers show north-south climate divide

ABC ^ | 1 May 2009 | Anna Salleh

[norwaypinesavage]

"Is it just me or does Gore look more and more like a madman every time I see a picture of him?"

It's just you. Gore has been a stark raving lunatic since the '60s.

[norwaypinesavage]

"It’s because the glaciers in the south are upside down."

Not really, they're just looking at them from underneath.

[norwaypinesavage]

I wasn’t aware that there are any glaciers in areas where there is less than 10 inches of precipitation per year.

[Aroostook25]

I wasn’t aware that there are any glaciers in areas where there is less than 10 inches of precipitation per year.

Antarctica averages maybe 6 inches per year of precipitation -- with 2 inches in the interior and 8 to 10 inches near the coasts. Yet because of the cold, even that small amount can accumulate. Greenland averages 13 to 14 inches with from 2 inches per year in the northern interior to 80 inches along some coastlines.

An increase of only a few inches of precipitation per year -- delivered by warmer and moister weather as increased snowfall -- makes glaciers and icecaps grow and deepen and flow faster. Maybe warmer and moister conditions will increase icepack depths in the coldest interiors of Greenland, Antarctica, and mountain masses such as the Himalayas. Yet warmer temperatures along the coasts can speed melting and calving of glaciers into the sea. Will it be a net gain or loss -- I dunno -- because conditions vary so much from area to area.

[Aroostook25]

I wasn’t aware that there are any glaciers in areas where there is less than 10 inches of precipitation per year.

Antarctica averages maybe 6 inches per year of precipitation -- with 2 inches in the interior and 8 to 10 inches near the coasts. Yet because of the cold, even that small amount can accumulate. Greenland averages 13 to 14 inches with from 2 inches per year in the northern interior to 80 inches along some coastlines.

An increase of only a few inches of precipitation per year -- delivered by warmer and moister weather as increased snowfall -- makes glaciers and icecaps grow and deepen and flow faster. Maybe warmer and moister conditions will increase icepack depths in the coldest interiors of Greenland, Antarctica, and mountain masses such as the Himalayas. Yet warmer temperatures along the coasts can speed melting and calving of glaciers into the sea. Will it be a net gain or loss -- I dunno -- because conditions vary so much from area to area.

[bert]

But you must understand what is happening.....if it were not for global warming, the Kiwi Glaciers would be growing at a much faster rate.

The fact they are growing does not indicate the absence of global warming /s

[norwaypinesavage]

Thanks, I had assumed it would all sublimate when it was that dry.

[RipSawyer]

“It’s just you. Gore has been a stark raving lunatic since the ‘60s.”
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I don’t doubt that but it seems that his lunacy shows on his face more with each passing day. I don’t remember his being quite so wild eyed twenty years ago. Now he seems to have more of a Charles Manson look about him.