Antarctica is headed for a climate tipping point by 2060, with catastrophic melting if carbon

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

emissions aren't cut quickly

While U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken draws attention to climate change in the Arctic at meetings with other national officials this week in Iceland, an even greater threat looms on the other side of the planet.

New research shows it is Antarctica that may force a reckoning between the choices countries make today about greenhouse gas emissions and the future survival of their coastlines and coastal cities, from New York to Shanghai.

That reckoning may come much sooner than people realize.

The Arctic is losing ice as global temperatures rise, and that is directly affecting lives and triggering feedback loops that fuel more warming. But the big wild card for sea level rise is Antarctica. It holds enough land ice to raise global sea levels by more than 200 feet (60 meters) – roughly 10 times the amount in the Greenland ice sheet – and we’re already seeing signs of trouble.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/antarctica-headed-climate-tipping-point-201226407.html

[FirstLight]

1. what really sucks is that it's probably less time than that...

Seems like ALL the models have been conservative. Maybe to avoid public panic? But in the 20-30 years I've been hearing about these timelines as we've approached 2020 etc... is that the models seem to be off by about half the time.

They say 50 years, it'll be 20-25.

We're so deep into the feedback loop it's beyond help on many levels, IMO

[Random Boomer]

4. Agreed

These days I automatically halve the timelines because predictions are so obviously constrained by scientific reticence, despite the fact they are continually behind the curve.

[-misanthroptimist]

2. I was looking at some data on Antarctic glaciers just this morning

To put it mildly, it's disheartening. Sea level rise (SLR) might be the biggest problem long term, but it is long term.

The thing that is going to unravel civilization, though, is extreme weather and the problems it causes.

[Random Boomer]

5. Ocean acidification is also a danger. n/t

[-misanthroptimist]

6. It certainly is!

[rickford66]

3. I saw the permanent ice at McMurdo starting to crack back in 1969-1970.

Looking at Google Earth now I see much more open water in the Summer.