University of Colorado at Boulder researchers have used data from a pair of NASA satellites orbiting Earth in tandem to determine that the Antarctic ice sheet, which harbors 90 percent of Earth’s ice, has lost significant mass in recent years.
The team used measurements taken with the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or GRACE, to conclude the Antarctic ice sheet is losing up to 36 cubic miles of ice, or 152 cubic kilometers, annually. By comparison, the city of Los Angeles uses about 1 cubic mile of fresh water annually.
The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment, completed in 2001, predicted the Antarctic ice sheet would gain mass in the 21st century due to increased precipitation in a warming climate. But the new study signals a reduction in the continent’s total ice mass, with the bulk of loss occurring in the West Antarctic ice sheet, said Velicogna.
“The overall balance of the Antarctic ice is dependent on regional changes in the interior and those in the coastal areas,” said Velicogna. “The changes we are seeing are probably a good indicator of the changing climatic conditions there.”
The article reflects a core scientific precept: increased data often allows more accurate analysis. As more knowledge about the ice sheet accumulates, the analysis may change again. That’s quite different from political statements about what one or another agenda hopes will happen.
Second, details about what data is acquired and how it’s analyzed is interesting as hell. DU geeks should understand the difference between land-based ice mass and floating — and what that means to rising water levels.
I was waiting for this to come up. Let me summarize the next hundred posts:
– Mankind is evil and living extravagantly
– It’s all George Bush’s fault
– We’re all going to die.
beautifully put!
So, the article is about increased, newer data and methods producing almost an opposite near-term conclusion — and “me” ignores that for a knee-jerk reaction to the topic.
I guess that’s Science 0 — 1 Philistines.
The ice sheet appears to be shrinking. I said nothing about not believing it. In fact, I believe it completely. That’s not what my post was about.
God forbid someone in the press read something that actually analyzes the data:
http://www.tcsdaily.com/Article.aspx?id=030306H
I guess this is too boring; so much easier to perform a lazy, political hit.
Evil,
The analysis you cite is even more slanted (in the opposite direction) than the original article posted above. TCSdaily was a good idea, poorly implemented. I would have more respect for it if it offered a truly dissenting opinion on matters instead of always harping the conservative viewpoint.
Surf’s up.
lmao@James
What had me wondering was that the study shows the ice pack is losing density on one side but that the other isn’t experiencing global warming apparently.
And before I get the *philistine* comment, I to believe the ice packs on both ends of the planet are receding….I just don’t believe Man is the sole or even primary cause.
I agree. It isn’t man that is causing the amazing change in climate. It is the squirrels. Damned rodents. Out there grabbing nuts and burrying them in the ground. Who knows what damage that is causing to the environment. Kill the squirrels! Kill them!!
who cares
we all die someday
Bears are a big problem to. But the biggest is all the hot air coming out of 24/7 news
The Flying Spaghetti Monster threw a party to cheer up the Creator in charge of Intelligent Design. Since Allah had just come from some hot spots in the Middle East and was feeling a little warm. So Jehovah went to Antarctica and picked a God Size bucket of ice. Bhudda grabbed some from the Arctic ice shield on his way over. Not to be outdone, Jesus and Mohammad brought some too.
With so much ice, the Gods couldn’t possibly use it all. So being the wise, kind, generous Gods they were, they sent what was left to their old friend Satan, who couldn’t make it to the party. He had a previous business meeting with a politician in Crawford Texas. Satan used all that ice to air condition the place; cooled the place right down too.
How do we know this? Because it is a cold day in Hell with Me actually suggesting the ice shields are melting.
Wow, all this proselytizing. It’s like a religion, and the only salvation is the environmentalist agenda.
It’s laughable. Predicting global trends on three-years worth of observation. Of course the author of the article Evil linked too tried to put the data into the proper perspective. But the global warming fanatics just accuse him of “harping the conservative viewpoint.”
Frankly, Dr. Patrick Michaels’s article does an excellent job of identifying the flaw in the paper by Velicogna and Wahr. But since his rebuttal appears to contradict “all scientists,” I’m sure moss will conclude that Dr. Michaels isn’t a scientist.