-Caveat Lector- Subject: [Article from AFP re: Glaciers Dissapearing Fast > Andes glaciers disappearing fast, scientists say > > PARIS (AFP) - Small glaciers in the tropical Andes may have disappeared > 15 years from now, destroyed by the more frequent occurrence of the El > Nino climate pattern, French and South American scientists warn. > > Tests conducted on two glaciers in Bolivia and Ecuador suggests that > these unique phenomena of tropical latitudes may have melted entirely by > 2015, the researchers say. > > "Their shrinkage rate has accelerated markedly over the past 10 or so > years. If the ice recession continues at the same pace, their survival > will be jeopardised even in the short term," they said in a statement > issued Wednesday. > > The researchers are from France's Institute for Development Research > (IRD), Bolivia's Institute of Hydraulics and Hydrology (IHH) and > Ecuador's National Institute for Meteology and Hydrology (INAMHI). > > Their findings mirror a warning expected to be made on Monday next week > by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the top panel > of climatologists advising the United Nations. > > Their report is expected to say that since the late 1960s, global snow > cover has decreased by about 10 percent and mountain glaciers in > non-polar regions are in "widespread retreat" as a result of global > warming. > > The latest research, however, pins the threat to the Andean glaciers > more specifically -- to a greater frequency of the highly damaging El > Nino pattern, which has caused a dramatic fall in local rainfall. > > The two glaciers studied, Antizana in Ecuador and Chacaltaya in Bolivia, > are each less than a square kilometer (half an acre) in area, located at > an altitude of more than 5,000 metres (16,250 feet). > > They suffered their worst shrinkage during the El Ninos that occurred in > 1991-1992, 1994-1996 and 1997-1998, retreating at up to 1.4 metres (4.5 > feet) per year. > > When El Nino went into reverse, in 1999 and 2000, the glaciers either > stabilised or grew, they note. > > El Nino, a massive displacement of water in the Pacific Ocean, brings > higher surface temperatures off the coast of South America and cooler > waters around Australia and New Zealand. > > The phenomenon, blamed for causing droughts, floods, frosts and forest > fires around the world in regions as far apart as south Asia and the > Horn of Africa, occurs at intervals of between two and 10 years. > > The average return is four and a half years, but the frequency has > increased sharply over the past two decades. > > Climatologists suggest the cause for this higher frequency is global > warming, which creates a big buildup of warm water in the western > Pacific that disrupts traditional current and rainfall patterns. > > Global warming is the term describing progressively higher atmospheric > temperatures caused by the release of carbon dioxide gas, mainly from > burning oil, gas and coal. > > These have a "greenhouse effect" of hanging invisibly in the lower > atmosphere, which then stores up the heat from the Sun. > > <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
