Big area of Antarctica melted in 2005

[rpannier]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Vast areas of snow in Antarctica melted in 2005 when temperatures warmed up for a week in the summer in a process that may accelerate invisible melting deep beneath the surface, NASA said on Tuesday.

A new analysis of satellite data showed that an area the size of California melted and then re-froze -- the most significant thawing in 30 years, the U.S. space agency said.

Unlike the Arctic, Antarctica has shown little to no warming in the recent past with the exception of the Antarctic Peninsula, where ice sheets have been breaking apart.

snip

"If sufficient melt water is available, it may reach the bottom of the ice sheet. This water can lubricate the underside of the ice sheet at the bedrock, causing the ice mass to move toward the ocean faster, increasing sea level."

link:

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/05/16/antarctica.melting.reut/index.html

[TheMadMonk]

1. Another problem is theat events like this put a lot of latent heat into the ice.

It takes 80 calories of heat to melt 1 cubic centimetre of ice or conversely 80 calories of heat must be removed to freeze one cubic centimetre of water. All this at 0 degrees C. Above and below 0 degrees water and ice gain/lose heat at the rate of roughly 1 calorie per degree C per cubic centimetre.

So to refreeze one cubic centimetre of that pool of melt water, 80 cubic centimetres of "subzero ice" must increase in temperature by 1 degree. (assuming conduction to be the primary cooling mechanism and ignoring atmospheric cooling effects.) And we are talking about an area the size of California and how deep???

As this "chill" lost to refreezing meltwater percolates through the icepack it makes it easiser to melt ice and overlying snow in subsequent seasons.

[bigwillq]

2. But in 30 years, it'll be called Global Cooling

if the Lord doesn't return by then. :eyes:

On global warming: "I can tell you, our grandchildren will laugh at those who predicted global warming. We'll be in global cooling by then, if the Lord hasn't returned. I don't believe a moment of it. The whole thing is created to destroy America's free enterprise system and our economic stability."


Thanks Mr. Falwell. :eyes: