Greenland Continues to Slip-Slide Away

[TechBear_Seattle]

Greenland Continues to Slip-Slide Away

The icy mega-island of Greenland is slipping away faster than before, as it experienced more days of melting snow in 2006 than it does on average, new satellite observations show.

Satellite sensors taking daily observations of the ice since 1988 revealed that Greenland’s melting days have progressively increased and melting has increasingly take place at higher altitudes.

“The sensors detected that snowmelt occurred more than 10 days longer than the average over certain areas of Greenland in 2006,” said study team leader Marco Tedesco, of the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, managed by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Areas along Greenland’s western, southeastern and northeastern coasts witnessed the largest number of melt days in 2006.

The story continues at http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20070529/sc_livescience/greenlandcontinuestoslipslideaway

Now might be a good time to buy Greenland property on spec, cause once the glaciers melt and all those millionaires loose their beachfront property....

[hobbit709]

1. But there's no possible connection

according to the climate change deniers to this thread

www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x98226

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. There's a difference between scepticism about possible ocean circulation changes

and 'climate change denial'. The suggestions about what might happen to North Atlantic circulation with increased Greenland melting are very varied - here's what RealClimate had to say, last year:

Nature this week has an excellent summary of the state of the science with regards to possible changes in the ocean thermohaline (or meridional) circulation in the Atlantic and its impact on climate. Even though it quotes a couple of us, it's still worth reading if you want to understand how results like the Bryden et al paper - that suggested that the Atlantic overturning had reduced by 30% in recent decades - are assimilated into the scientific picture.
...
Everyone quoted is however agreed on one thing: "the notion that (a future change in the themohaline circulation) may trigger a mini ice age is a myth”. The evidence of previous changes for instance at the Younger Dryas or during the 8.2 kyr event is quite strong, and significant coolings were observed particular around the North Atlantic, but even such localised coolings are not predicted to occur if the circulation slows as an effect of global warming.

It is however a complicated business, and the stability of this circulation depends on many aspects of climate that are poorly observed and uncertainly modelled. So it may yet be some time before new observations (such as the permanant monitoring array recently installed along a section of the ocean), better modelling, and a better appreciation of the paleo-climatic data add up to a coherent understanding of this interestingly counter-intuitive aspect of climate change.

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=187

[Javaman]

3. Everyone at one time or another has seen the various videos of

avalanches and how it sort of just "sheets" when it begins to slide.

I'm waiting for that to happen at some point regarding Greenland. Oh sure, the whole thing won't go at once, but there will be a section may slide off and poof! we're in deep doo doo.

[Systematic Chaos]

4. Yeah, and enough ice to raise the ocen an average of "just" 6 inches...

...would create a global tidal wave that would wipe out everything for miles from any coast, unless you go straight from sea level to mountain top. I have an unshakable feeling that something like that is about to happen.

[tom_paine]

5. The most profound discovery is that many Gaia processes are positive feedback loops

Positive feedback loops go hogwild once they begin oscillating out of control.

[XemaSab]

6. (Sings) Always look on the bright side of life....

:)

They're doing an action in Santa Barbara to paint the 7 meter contour line on all the city streets and sidewalks.

Good times.

[Nihil]

7. Thanks for making me smile!

Mind you, if they tried that here in London, they'd have to carry a ladder.

:think:

[XemaSab]

8. The line they're painting is a pretty blue wave-patterned stencil

My thought was if they REALLY wanted to make people think a filthy brown bathtub ring on all the buildings would be more effective. :hide: