A recent study by NASA seems to contradict some of the currently accepted knowledge about global warming and glaciers. It found that increased ice melting in Antarctica is offset by increased snowfall, meaning that the continent's glaciers are posting a net gain in mass, and are not contributing to rising sea levels.
Contrary to some sensationalist headlines about the "end of global warming", the study's authors urged caution.
"We're essentially in agreement with other studies that show an increase in ice discharge," in other parts of the continent, [Jay] Zwally said.
"Our main disagreement is for East Antarctica and the interior of West Antarctica; there, we see an ice gain that exceeds the losses in the other areas," he explained in a NASA announcement.
Editors Note: As best as I can tell, this is the NASA study referenced in the article above. Note that it is from October, 2014.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by M. Baranczak on Wednesday November 04 2015, @01:23AM
They used a new measuring tool, and they got different results than the older tools. How do you go from that to "we know nothing"? Maybe there are things you just don't want to know?
You're sitting in a bar. You count the money in your pocket three times. The first two times you get $52.55. The third time, it's $42.53. You throw up your hands and say, "money is a mystery, managing my finances responsibly is a waste of time, I should just blow everything on hookers!" Now, maybe you should blow everything on hookers, we can't rule out that possibility, but the way you arrived at your decision is logically suspect. And the kind of hookers that you can get for $42.53 will probably make you regret the decision either way. Right now, human civilization is that guy at the bar.