|
lIllIIIllIlIIlIlIIllIllIIl
Stranger

Registered: 12/16/04
Posts: 11,123
Loc: Texas
|
sea level rise
#7656928 - 11/19/07 09:52 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
|
|
many times on television i have heard "experts" saying that if the antarctic and greenland ice melts the sea level will rise over 100 meters, and they imply that this will happen in our lifetime
but i have also heard that most of the ice in these two places will not melt or it will take several thousand years to melt because these areas are at a very high elevation that is naturally cold and are very energy reflective
this is different from the arctic ice because that ice is at a low elevation, it is in contact with liquid water underneath and it is much thinner that the ice sheets found in greenland and antarctica
is that the case?
what is a realistic sea level rise in our lifetime?
i would guess that most of the rise would be due to thermal expansion of sea water
|
Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
Last seen: 2 months, 20 days
|
|
There was a thread about this a while back. Water is odd because when it freezes it expands where most liquids contract when they get colder. As water freezes, it takes up less space while maintaining the same mass. This translates into a lower density for ice than for water, thus ice floats (on water). You can fill a cup with ice and add water (drop by drop towards the end) until it won't hold anymore without spilling. Let the ice melt, and notice that no water spilled.
How does this translate into sea levels? If ice melts that is supported by land, then sea levels rise. If Ice melts that is supported by water, then sea levels remain unchanged. If the entire arctic circle melted, sea levels would not change much. However, if Antartica melts, things will get interesting.
Remember, most of the global warming stuff is hype intended to scare you into spending money. The climate is dynamic and has undergone massive changes in the past; seas became salt flats, deserts became tropical paradises, and lush forests became deserts (all without the help of man). There is no reason to believe that our current climate dynamics will not naturally follow this same path.
Because of the hype, because of politics (and special interests) influencing science, it is difficult to know what is going to happen. What is certain is that the global warming crowd will blame mankind for any change and try to get you to spend money to fix the problem.
|
AaronEvil
The GuitarVillain



Registered: 09/27/04
Posts: 1,706
Loc: California
Last seen: 12 years, 8 months
|
Re: sea level rise [Re: Seuss]
#7659023 - 11/20/07 01:13 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
|
|
For me, its not so much about Global Warming as it is Global Health. I want to fix the environment so that my children dont die from poor air quality. Thus the need to switch from oil to something a little less dangerous.
In terms of this thread, if Global Warming was to happen (whatever the cause is) it would not happen over night. A lot of spokespeople for the Global Warming cause try to make it seem like you will wake up one day completely submerged in water. That wont happen. It wont be like the movie The Day After Tomorrow. People will have time to adapt to the changing environment and in the end, very few people will have died from the climate shift.
--------------------
There is not a lot of difference between a fox hole and a grave; but knowing that you dug your ditch and climbed in anyway.
|
mr_pat
Stranger

Registered: 11/19/07
Posts: 100
Last seen: 6 years, 1 month
|
Re: sea level rise [Re: AaronEvil]
#7659093 - 11/20/07 01:36 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
|
|
Guys, sea levels have been rising since the end of the last ice age, 15,000 years ago. Sea levels have risen 300-500 feet from that time. All that ice was going to melt one way or another. One thing to remember is that when the ice is freed from the caps, glaciers and snow packs the world will be more tropical, crop flourish the number of animals rises etc... When the water supplies are frozen in "the ice age" the world is very dry, there is crop failure and the numbers of species declines.
|
mr_pat
Stranger

Registered: 11/19/07
Posts: 100
Last seen: 6 years, 1 month
|
Re: sea level rise [Re: AaronEvil]
#7659103 - 11/20/07 01:39 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
AaronEvil said: For me, its not so much about Global Warming as it is Global Health. I want to fix the environment so that my children dont die from poor air quality. Thus the need to switch from oil to something a little less dangerous.
In terms of this thread, if Global Warming was to happen (whatever the cause is) it would not happen over night. A lot of spokespeople for the Global Warming cause try to make it seem like you will wake up one day completely submerged in water. That wont happen. It wont be like the movie The Day After Tomorrow. People will have time to adapt to the changing environment and in the end, very few people will have died from the climate shift.
I agree 100%, I believe the world has need getting warmer from the time of the last ice age. Its not man made.
|
lIllIIIllIlIIlIlIIllIllIIl
Stranger

Registered: 12/16/04
Posts: 11,123
Loc: Texas
|
Re: sea level rise [Re: mr_pat]
#7660890 - 11/20/07 10:13 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
mr_pat said: Guys, sea levels have been rising since the end of the last ice age, 15,000 years ago. Sea levels have risen 300-500 feet from that time. All that ice was going to melt one way or another. One thing to remember is that when the ice is freed from the caps, glaciers and snow packs the world will be more tropical, crop flourish the number of animals rises etc... When the water supplies are frozen in "the ice age" the world is very dry, there is crop failure and the numbers of species declines.
how do you define sea level "rise"?
isostatic rebound at the same time has raised the level of the continents, and the same thing will happen if greenland or antarctica melts (so i understand)
so it seems it is a very complicated process involving melting glaciers, the movement of tectonic plates (the gravity of the planet playing a role) and thermal expansion
yet the sea level is rising (has been since the last ice age) and they say it's rising faster now
i wish there was more information about this on the internet
|
the man
still masked



Registered: 08/12/99
Posts: 6,681
Loc: C A N A D A
Last seen: 9 hours, 43 minutes
|
|
isostatic rebound operates on a different time frame then melting. for example hudson bay is still rebounding from glaciers.
i forget which year it was but not that long ag(90s)o a huge chunk of antarctica slideinto the ocean. this was a majoy chunk and was not expected to happen adn did so in a few days
-------------------- And Moses Said "Let my mushrooms grow!"
|
|