USGS/NASA Program Will Provide Near-Real-Time Tracking Of How Quickly Large Glaciers Move

[hatrack]

They may appear frozen and immovable, but glaciers, which contain some 69% of the world's freshwater, are slowly slipping into the sea.

A new NASA project is tracking the movement of glaciers and ice sheets to show how fast they are melting, and predict what effects this may have on global sea levels and climate. Working in conjunction with the US Geological Survey and several universities to analyze satellite data, NASA's Global Land Ice Velocity Extraction (GoLIVE) project is able to provide a "near-real-time view of every large glacier and ice sheet on Earth."

The data will enable researchers to understand what effect atmosphere and ocean conditions have on ice sheets and how that changes how much ice is flowing into the ocean. We can use the method to identify which areas to keep an eye on, or which events might lead to a rapid change," Ted Scambos, a senior research scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder, said in a statement.

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"By measuring ice flow all the time, we can identify a surge as it starts, providing an entirely new way to follow this phenomenon," scientist Mark Fahnestock of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, said in a statement. We can also follow large seasonal swings in tidewater glaciers, as they respond to their environment."

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http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/12/health/nasa-climate-change-ice-speed-glaciers/index.html

[OKIsItJustMe]

1. Unfortunately, Republicans will move faster

https://www.salon.com/2016/11/23/politicizing-climate-change-donald-trumps-budget-could-cut-climate-funding-for-nasa-other-federal-departments/

[font face=Serif] Wednesday, Nov 23, 2016 09:52 AM EST
[font size=5]Politicizing climate change: Donald Trump’s budget could cut climate funding for NASA, other federal departments[/font]

[font size=4]Donald Trump, in an effort to cut spending, is likely going to slash some important climate change programs[/font]

Brian Kahn and Bobby Magill, Climate Central

[font size=3]The world is waiting to hear what President-elect Donald Trump has in mind for governing the U.S. Among the biggest questions is what will happen to the budget for climate and energy-related activities.

Though they’re a relatively small piece of a federal budget that is in excess of $1 trillion, how the administration deals with climate and energy will go a long ways toward determining the future of the planet.

…

The EPA transition team leader is Myron Ebell, a climate denier from the Competitive Enterprise Institute. On Monday, the transition team announced that Thomas Pyle, a former Koch brothers lobbyist, would head up the Energy Department transition and Doug Domenech, who runs Fueling Freedom, a group that aims to “explain the forgotten moral case for fossil fuels,” would head the Interior Department efforts.

Add in a Republican-controlled Senate and House, which have repeatedly tried to block climate action under President Obama, and it’s likely that the federal climate budget will suffer in the coming years. Just how remains to be seen until Trump proposes his first budget.

…[/font][/font]