Melting of Ice

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I heard part of a report about the melting of ice in the Arctic.

According to the report, there is a lot of ice that may be melting from the bottom. It is presently restrained from moving south. However, it is believed by many that within five years it may break free. That may (or would) cause a sudden substantial increase in ocean depths that would put many major cities underwater while changing the world climate.

Is this report reliable?

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[+3] - BillW - 01/07/2022[url]https://abcnews.go.com/International/melting-arctic-ice-catastrophic-effects-world-experts/story?id=81588333[/url] This kinda covers everything and it was published 2 weeks ago.

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@gollum,

gollum wrote:

I heard part of a report about the melting of ice in the Arctic.

According to the report, there is a lot of ice that may be melting from the bottom. It is presently restrained from moving south. However, it is believed by many that within five years it may break free. That may (or would) cause a sudden substantial increase in ocean depths that would put many major cities underwater while changing the world climate.

Is this report reliable?

No.

Unless the report was about ice in Antarctica...and you just screwed up by saying the Arctic.

1 Reply

@Frank Apisa,

Frank-

Thank you.

OK, is something like that imminent in Antarctica?

I realize that Antarctica is a continent (i.e., a land-mass), if the ice fell into the ocean, the ocean level would rise.

The Arctic is just an icy area.

2 Replies

@gollum,

gollum wrote:

Frank-

Thank you.

OK, is something like that imminent in Antarctica?

I realize that Antarctica is a continent (i.e., a land-mass), if the ice fell into the ocean, the ocean level would rise.

The Arctic is just an icy area.

I've read a couple of articles by people who should know...

...and unfortunately, it does seem to be the truth. If the scientists are correct, the amount of ice dropping off into the sea will have serious consequences for the coastlines of countries throughout the world. And since many major cities of the world are on coastlines...we may be in big trouble during the next century.

0 Replies

@gollum,

Here is the NOAA site discussing sea level - https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level

Some interesting graphs

https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_620_original_image/public/2021-10/ClimateDashboard-global-sea-levels-graph-20211006-1400px.jpg?itok=8VPxY3zD

This one is interesting because it shows that a good part of sea level rise is due to the thermal expansion of water as it changes density with temperature, not just melt.

https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_620_original_image/public/2021-05/sealevel_contributors_graph_SOTC2018_lrg.jpg?itok=sMugwz4S

I like this one because it shows satellite data which is the new standard for measuring sea level.

https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_620_original_image/public/2021-05/NOAA_SLR_projections_2017_lrg.jpg?itok=NepYHItc

0 Replies

@gollum,

The North Pole may just be ice, but there is plenty of land in the Arctic Circle, Greenland for example as well as parts of Russia, Canada and Scandinavia.

Any melting ice currently on land will increase sea levels.

1 Reply

@izzythepush,

izzythepush-

Thank you.

Accordingly, might the report I heard be correct?

Specifically, might there be ice within the Arctic Circle that is presently blocked from moving south. However, based on various events that have been happening, that it will become unblocked within five years from now.

That would cause a change in water temperatures, which in turn would cause a global change in weather patterns.

According to the report that I heard, a very large increase in ocean levels would also occur.

2 Replies

@gollum,

You need to define "very large". A foot is very large if you live on the coast in a low lying area, but if the report says ten feet, that is on the extreme end of calculations.

0 Replies

@gollum,

I'm not a scientist, but I have heard talk of opening up the NW passage.

0 Replies

@gollum,

https://abcnews.go.com/International/melting-arctic-ice-catastrophic-effects-world-experts/story?id=81588333

This kinda covers everything and it was published 2 weeks ago.

1 Reply

@BillW,

BillW-

Thank you, that article is very helpful. The only thing remaining is will there be a sudden large increase in ocean levels?

1 Reply

@gollum,

If/when that ice sheet moves off the land in Antarctica, it will be almost instantly! The ice on Greenland melting, a little at a time.

1 Reply

@BillW,

BillW-

Is there an accepted estimate for the likelihood of such an ice sheet movement?

2 Replies

@gollum,

Ice melts, Ice ages, all natural events.

0 Replies

@gollum,

gollum wrote:

BillW-

Is there an accepted estimate for the likelihood of such an ice sheet movement?

Because it isn't a natural event - nope! But much, much sooner than if it was a natural event. Instead of measured in 10' of thousands of years, leads than 100.

1 Reply

@BillW,

Quote:

Because it isn't a natural event - nope!

To date, there have been 138 volcanoes discovered in Antarctica, of which only two are currently active, Mt Erebus and Deception Island. Perhaps the widespread temperature fluctuations and rising volcanic activity may be the cause of the Ice melt.

The most recent eruption of Mt Erebus was in September of 1995, the eruption continued for about a month, steam and ash erupted up to 12 kilometres into the sky endangering aircraft. Smaller eruptions have occurred since then, in early 2001, lava flows in the inner crater and ash eruptions were seen at Erebus volcano.

0 Replies

Melting of Ice

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