Flash:
Earth trying to drown humans for tampering mercilessly with the ecosphere.
Voice Of America:
Satellites Show Dramatic Melting At Poles
By Paul Sisco
Washington, DC
24 May 2006
Watch Melting Poles... / Real broadband - download
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-05-24-voa25.cfm
NASA scientists, working with 10 years of satellite data, find a
dramatic thinning of ice around the edges of Greenland, and Antarctica
too.
Using satellite technology and various measurements, NASA scientists
confirm the earth is melting at both poles. In the north, at the
Arctic, the melting of Greenland's three-kilometer thick ice sheet had
been expected, though not as dramatically as it is now happening. But
in the south, many believed the far more massive ice sheets covering
Antarctica would increase in the 21st century. That's not so, according
to the NASA observations and data. Despite increasing snowfall,
Antarctica's ice sheets are shrinking.
Research Scientist, Dr. Isabella Velicogna is with the University Of
Colorado explains the evidence of melting. "What is unique about what we
found is that for the first time, we are able to say, we are sure that
the Antarctic ice sheet is losing mass, and at a significant rate."
NASA Glaciologist, Dr. Jay Zwally. “The warmer ocean comes underneath
the ice shelves and melts them from the bottom, and warmer air from the
top melts them from the top so they're thinning and eventually they get
to a point they go poof?"
The findings come from, Grace, which stands for "Gravity Recovery and
Climate Experiment ... twin satellites orbiting the earth in tandem that
are constantly measuring variations in the Earth's mass and
gravitational field. Dr. Isabella Velicogna, authored the study. "We
studied the changing mass of the Antarctic ice sheet using the data from
the gravity recovery and climate experiment, Grace, and we found
Antarctica is losing mass and is losing a significant about of mass (at)
about 152 cubic kilometer a year, which is equivalent to how much water
the United Stares is using in three months. So it's a lot of water."
Combining data from the grace experiment with other research tools,
scientists tracking Antarctica's melting ice sheet express concern.
NASA Earth Science Director, James Hansen. "If we pass a certain point
of no return then we're going to get large sea level rise even though it
would take a century or two or three to play out fully, we will have
started a process we just can't stop."
Scientists say rising sea levels are a great danger to coastal villages
and cities. While the new analysis shows fluctuations in Antarctica's
ice sheet and even some thickening in parts, melting over the last five
years has contributed to a sea level rise of 1.2 millimeters. This
suggests a small but significant rise in sea levels of almost half a
millimeter annually.
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