Scientists shocked as Arctic polar route emerges
European scientists voiced shock as they showed pictures which showed Arctic ice cover had disappeared so much last month that a ship could sail unhindered from Europe’s most northerly outpost to the North Pole itself.
[…]
Perennial sea ice — thick ice that is normally present year-round and is not affected by the Arctic summer — had disappeared over an area bigger than the British Isles, ESA said.
Regular satellite monitoring over the last 25 years shows that the northern polar ice cover has shrunk and thinned as global temperatures have risen.
But this year’s images are unprecedented, and fierce storms that fragmented and scattered already thin pack ice may be to blame, the scientists believe.
Poor Santa, I think he may have move his operation to a cruise ship. I guess he could move his base to Antartica.
Move along, nothing to see here
Weren’t we supposed to see sea-levels rise because of such a large melt?
Or do sea-levels drop because the specific volume of ice is greater than that of water?
Let me be clear. There is no reason to believe humans are the cause of global climate change. The earth goes through cycles. It’s terrorists we need to be concerned about. The terrorists that want to teleport from unspecified locations in the Middle East [ed. note: Iraq, the hotbed of terrorism since the invasion] and attack our innocent people. A vote for the Democrats is a vote for annihilation. A vote for Republicans will bring certain safety.
#4 – Thank God, Pat Robertson and corporate funding (not necessarily in that order) for people like you. I feel safer already.
Everyone knows Santa lives in North Pole, Alaska.
As for the sea level, my guess is that the water is being bottled and not entering the sea.
#3, Mike
Good question. What happens though is in Summer while the Northern Hemisphere is warming, and the ice is melting, the opposite is happening in the Southern Hemisphere where it is cooling, and ice is forming. These two cycles work in harmony so the sea level fluctuations are so very small they aren’t noticed.
#3 & #6
Put some ice cubes in a glass, then fill the glass to the brim with water.
Wait until the ice cubes melt. No overflow.
Sea levels wouldn’t rise because of melting sea ice; they would rise because of melting icecaps on land.
Like the ones on Greenland or Antarctica.
If #7 is right about the South POle getting more ice, then sea levels would drop since the North Pole’s melting would have no effect.
We certainly seem to be winning the war on terra.(1)
1. You see, it’s a joke on how some people say “terror” that also implies war on the Earth. **Drum Kick** Oh man, I slay myself sometimes. Whew!
8 Sea levels wouldn’t rise because of melting sea ice; they would rise because of melting icecaps on land.
Thanks, Terry.
That is the key info which I had forgotten.
Less polar bears, since they drown before they can make it to an ice flow strong enough to support their weight, and be near their food supply . . . . Seals!
So the seal population will rise, no more natural predators, the Cnd Gov’t will have to open seal hunting to prevent over-population & disease.
What’s more humane? Killing the seals ourselves because the predators aren’t there anymore, or letting them die of starvation & disease?
FWIW, in WW2, the Cnd Gov’t sanctionned pratice bombing runs for pilots on the white Beluga whales, because someone stated that the Beluga’s eat salmon & other game fish. No more predators, so Man might as well step in to control population.
Raise water levels? Perennial land-based melting ice raises water levels. Greenland & Antartica.
The Artic melts change the salinity of the Atlantic ocean, stores heat differently, interrupts the trans-Atlantic current, disrupts weather like El Nino is doing.
Final result? The last few seconds – the dying throes of a spinning top – unpredictable patterns of movement of weather.
Already here in Quebec, Canada – the world’s capital of hydro-electricity. Less rainfall in the far north, and our resevoirs are not replenishing enough to maintain hydro production with increasing demand.
Hydro is trying to dam up medium-sized rivers 300km south of current dams, but the conservationists are all over this issue. Hydro-Quebec has conceeded with wind turbines. Temporary Solution.
Damn, what a can-of-worms this brings up. So who’s driving Hybrids? Picking up my Toyota Prius tonight.
NOT to SAVE money, bought instead of a Audi, Lexus or SUV!!!
Probably 50% of the North-Am adults can afford 35k$ cars, so they buy the luxury, most polluting, cars. The Prius has it all. Luxury, security, speedy, awesome range, low pollution.
So yes, I *hate* SUVs and their uncaring (rich) owners, that can afford the Escape Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, Civic Hybrid or the Prius. BUT choose NOT to. Rich (insert expletives here) hypocrits.
It’s too late.
The snowball is rolling.
(Reposted because PHP truncated my original message due to a bad choice for an arrow symbol)
It’s too late.
The snowball is rolling. Terrible comparison, since the snowbal would melt.
The threshold has been crossed, and it portends have dire consequeces for our children, their children and their children.
All we can do now is to take steps from making it worse than it will be… and adapt.
To earth this is an insignificant change, a 1000 year period of warmer temperatures, measured ofver 100’s of millions of years, is utterly insignificant. Life on earth will go on… but life for humans will totally suck in about 100 years.
>The Prius has it all. Luxury,
That tiny car is a luxury? Where is the headroom, cargo room, legroom, safety?
If #7 is right about the South POle getting more ice, then sea levels would drop since the North Pole’s melting would have no effect.
Comment by AB CD — 9/21/2006 @ 9:17 am
And if brains were made of dynamite you still could blow your own nose. Read the post next time, I never suggested the Southern Hemisphere, let alone the South Pole, was getting MORE ice.
Thank you to Terry for adding the land based ice melting contributing to the rise in sea levels. I apologize because my head was somewhere else as I was writing my post.
#10
That’s the post of the year in my book.
#10
It was a bit of a ramble
#10, #17, #18
I thought I was the only guy who liked the joke about the insecure comic who explained his jokes…
#15
It has all the headroom you need unless you are 6’11” – And just because you can’t fit a jogging track inside it doesn’t make it tiny. It isn’t like the Honda Insight which was too small by any standard, and in fact it is roomier than the Corolla. Trunk Space may be an issue. The Prius is not the car to haul you, your wife, your three kids, and an excitable collie to your parents house for holiday three states away.
Unless you drive alone and just Fed Ex the family…
A path accross the N. Pole of water that is warmer will accelerate the melting.
It will also change the flows of the ocean.
whats happening NOW, is that much of that water is going 2 places…
1. into the air as clouds and vapor.
2. into the Lower basin under the saltwater oceans.
More storms, worse storms..
Water will raise as Storms wash away Ice caps around the world, which will cause flooding in low areas.
#19
Very good post. Fully agree with everything in it.
#19
They’re also easy to pass.
Then again, humor seems to pass you by every day.
>Read the post next time, I never suggested the Southern Hemisphere, >let alone the South Pole, was getting MORE ice.
I was ready to apologize, then I took your advice and read your post.
>. What happens though is in Summer while the Northern Hemisphere is warming, and the ice is melting, the opposite is happening in the Southern Hemisphere where it is cooling, and ice is forming.
Perhaps it depands on what forming means?
I’ll stick with my original post, which you acknowledged. The North Pole melting leads to no rise in sea level, so a balanced South Pole ice formation would lead to a drop in sea level. I did miss that you said hemisphere, but most of that is over land.
#22 – then again, humor seems to pass you by every day.
Comment by James Hill — 9/21/2006 @ 5:07 pm
No… I read your posts.
#15, >The Prius has it all. Luxury,
> That tiny car is a luxury? Where is the headroom, cargo room, >legroom, safety?
Which part of “The cars you love with headroom, cargo room, legroom and safety are fucking our planet” didn’t you understand?
That said, calling a Prius a tiny car is only a matter of relativity, even for Americans who are usually big. Want an example? I learned to fly in a Cessna 152 and I, a tiny European felt tight in a Cessna 152. Two people on a Cessna 152 fly shoulder to shoulder and are cramped like sardine. I remind you it was a plane design by Americans and it is still flown by Americans, so yes, you too are able to fit in tiny spaces. Yes, you can put your whole family in the Prius, so cut the crap. The planet is way much more important than your precious and beloved legroom.
Concerning safety, can you please present data on how the Prius is unsafer than your wonderful big car? I’d love to learn about that!
Finally, how in the world can you people be so selfish and so shortsighted?
Global warming is a made up pr scam… Please remeber and protect the SPINACH
#23, AB CD, I truly can’t determine if you are really stupid or just trolling. But keep trying, you might convince someone you are eligible for the “Some Village is Missing Their Idiot Award”
AB CD, is English your first language.
Main Entry: 2form
Function: verb
transitive verb
1 a : to give a particular shape to : shape or mold into a certain state or after a particular model b : to arrange themselves in c : to model by instruction and discipline
2 : to give form or shape to : FASHION, CONSTRUCT
3 : to serve to make up or constitute : be an essential or basic element of
4 : DEVELOP, ACQUIRE
5 : to arrange in order : DRAW UP
6 a : to assume an inflection so as to produce (as a tense) b : to combine to make (a compound word)
intransitive verb
1 : to become formed or shaped
2 : to take form : come into existence : ARISE
3 : to take on a definite form, shape, or arrangement
– form·abil·i·ty /”for-m&-‘bi-l&-tE/ noun
– form·able /’for-m&-b&l/ adjective
– form on : to take up a formation next to
Strong emotions on this one. Never expected derogatory remarks on my new 06 Prius though!
Being able to afford a car in the 25-30k USD range, I shopped around. The Prius B package has six airbags, low roll-over factor, reinforcements, etc, etc. Not much difference that your average Lexus, Audi, BMW.
I bought this car because it’s great, much more room than the Honda Civic Hybrid, less than the Ford Escape.
With so many hybrid choices out there now, it’s not just ridiculous, but downright unfair to the environment, not to get a hybrid on your next new vehicle.
The not-so-rich don’t drive SUV’s and large sedans anyways, but Echo’s, Tercel’s, Civics, Yaris, which don’t consume much gas in the first place compared to the luxury cars.
I just helped by wife buy a new Yaris last night. If I could have afforded it, I would have bought another hybrid.
Once the Yaris paid for, in 5 yrs, my wife wants an full-electric, which won’t be available in Canada for at least another 2 years.
Mitshibushi with their In-Wheel electric motor, 250+ mile range on a 5hr charge. Korean Parade too. Just a matter of time.
Meantime, if you give a hoot, at least get a hybrid if you can afford it. The extra 4k$ price come back to you at the end as the vehicle is worth more than a non-hybrid.
#29 – Strong emotions on this one. Never expected derogatory remarks on my new 06 Prius though!
Comment by Mark Derail — 9/22/2006 @ 9:20 am
Not surprising really… Conservatives get angry and defensive when confronted by science and ethics.
I, however, am glad you dig your Prius… and I’m even happier about Toyota committing to an all-hybrid fleet and their rapid growth. Maybe they’ll buy the failing Detroit automakers and revolutionize the industry.
One thing is for sure, they have have a better record of employing Americans than American auto companies. I, for one, welcome our new hybrid overlords….