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Sea level rise quickens as Greenland ice sheet sheds record amount:
Greenland's massive ice sheet saw a record net loss of 532 billion tonnes last year, raising red flags about accelerating sea level rise, according to new findings.
That is equivalent to an additional three million tonnes of water streaming into global oceans every day, or six Olympic pools every second.
Crumbling glaciers and torrents of melt-water slicing through Greenland's ice block—as thick as ten Eiffel Towers end-to-end—were the single biggest source of global sea level rise in 2019 and accounted for 40 percent of the total, researchers reported in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
[...] "2019 and the four other record-loss years have all occurred in the last decade," lead author Ingo Sasgen, a glaciologist at the Helmholtze Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, told AFP.
The ice sheet is now tracking the worst-case global warming scenario of the UN's climate science advisory panel, the IPCC, noted Andrew Shepherd, director of the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at the University of Leeds.
[...] Until 2000, Greenland's [runoff ...] was compensated by fresh snowfall.
[...] In 2019, the ice sheet lost a total of 1.13 trillion tonnes, about 45 percent from glaciers sliding into the sea, and 55 percent from melted ice, said Sasgen. It gained about 600 billion tonnes through precipitation.
A study in the same journal last week concluded that the Greenland's ice sheet has passed a "tipping point", and is now doomed to disintegrate, though on what time scale is unknown.
Journal References:
Ingo Sasgen, Bert Wouters, Alex S. Gardner, et al. Return to rapid ice loss in Greenland and record loss in 2019 detected by the GRACE-FO satellites [open], Communications Earth & Environment (DOI: 10.1038/s43247-020-0010-1)
Michalea D. King, Ian M. Howat, Salvatore G. Candela, et al. Dynamic ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet driven by sustained glacier retreat [open], Communications Earth & Environment (DOI: 10.1038/s43247-020-0001-2)
(Score: 5, Interesting) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday August 23 2020, @12:26AM (18 children)
Ever been driving down a wet incline and tried to hit the brakes only to have your tires loos traction and become effectively useless?
Remember the gut churning terror you felt seeing the edge of the road come at you knowing you were about to go over it?
It is too late. Nothing is going to prevent Humanity going over the edge. Not Science, not Gods.
Biden, Trump, like they would really be able to make a difference now. The time for useful action was over 30 years ago.
All we can do is try to adapt to the rising waters and drying lands, and do what we can to prevent what lies beyond the edge from just being an empty drainage ditch and not a 100ft cliff
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 5, Insightful) by HiThere on Sunday August 23 2020, @12:59AM (5 children)
There are still degrees and degrees of damage. Damage control is, to an extent, still possible. Yes, we've already committed to 3 degrees of warming, but we don't need to try for 10 degrees + several meters of sea level rise.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 23 2020, @02:32AM (3 children)
3 degrees? Wait for the micronova that turns the moon red, melting the surface to glass that happens every 15k years as found by the apollo missions. Then 18 hrs later the dust shell will hit the earth and chaos ensues.
3 degrees over a hundred years is hilarious to be concerned about.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 23 2020, @04:32AM (2 children)
Wow, found the conspuracy googler. Melting surface to glass every 15k years? Try thinking that through crazy buddy.
Sun activity is a worry, but so far it is not the cause.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 23 2020, @04:44AM (1 child)
Apollo 11 Observations of a Remarkable Glazing Phenomenon on the Lunar Surface.
T. Gold. Science. New Series, Vol. 165, No. 3900 (Sep. 26, 1969), pp. 1345-1349. 10.1126/science.165.3900.1345
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/165/3900/1345 [sciencemag.org]
Melted glass from a cosmic impact 12,900 years ago
Ted E. Bunch, et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2012, 109 (28) E1903-E1912; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1204453109
https://www.pnas.org/content/109/28/E1903 [pnas.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2020, @04:00AM
An example of cherry picked facts applied out of context to something completely tangential. Then the obligatory conclusion drawn based on zero logic and applied in an attempt to discredit properly applied research and study.
This is basis of just about every conspiracy theory out there.
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday August 23 2020, @04:52AM
Very true.
I did mention in my OP that there was still some hope.
3 degrees for the dry drainage ditch, easy to survive and climb out of unhurt, other than the year or so taken off one's life by the experience.
10+ degrees for the 100ft cliff, not going to be much left of the car, and the passengers will be in REALLY bad shape.
But it won't really matter who is PotUS either way. To even keep it at the 3 degree mark is going to take a MASSIVE commitment by all the worlds nations to take action to stop the green house gas emisions. Trump would just stay his course for another four years, being challenged left and right in court by various groups. Even if Biden went 100% on reducing fossil fuel usage to zero during his tenure in the White House, which he won't, he would be fighting up a cliff face. The entrenched interests would oppose his every effort, forcing the issue to a near complete stand still for as long as possible. Exactly as if Trump was in office another four years.
At the very least we are going into the drainage ditch, and I don't think it's going to be empty to be honest. Nothing we do now can stop the current melting of the ice caps.
The rich don't give a fuck about rising sea levels, they can afford to buy land anywhere they want. Even in a Water World scenario they already own, or can have built, custom yachts large enough to comfortably live on for the rest of their lives. Supplies? One small cargo freighter could hold all the fuel, fuel, food and water they and their entourage could ever use.
I will be voting for Biden. As much as I dislike him for many other reasons I hate Trump. So, for the first time in my voting life I will not be voting for who I think will be the best President but for whoever has the best chance of beating the incumbent.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 23 2020, @03:11AM (3 children)
If we're lucky, this "disaster" will happen quickly before all the New Yorkers and LA residents can escape. Sadly, I'm sure that won't happen and the slime will just spread out as the waters slowly rise.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 23 2020, @03:50AM (2 children)
Some people don't fit the political agenda you are trying to push.
Therefore, they should die! Oh gawwd Trump 2020! MAGA!!1!1
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 23 2020, @05:26PM (1 child)
It's Biden voters kicking people in the head, looting, burning, harassing, bullying, shitting in the streets and tearing down elk statues. We see what you are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 23 2020, @08:42PM
Ah yes, the ones not murdering their neighbors, promoting constitutional violations, and supporting traitors to the United States. Not to mention beimg racist assholes causing division and strife because they can't let people they don't like live in leace.
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Sunday August 23 2020, @07:11AM (5 children)
Actually, it would pretty easy to reverse the trend. Blow up half the countries in the world right now, especially some of the main polluters.
Now, reversing the trend without a cataclysm and massive loss of life? Yeah, that's a lot harder.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 23 2020, @12:37PM
we are still coming out the ice age it takes time
(Score: 2) by Dr Spin on Sunday August 23 2020, @03:01PM (3 children)
Blow up half the countries in the world right now, especially some of the main polluters.
Well a lot of people voted Trump - that is a start!
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 0, Troll) by hemocyanin on Sunday August 23 2020, @05:30PM (2 children)
It was Obama that took GWB's 2 wars to 7 -- Trump hasn't been perfect of course, Democrats goaded him into bombing Syria, but this isn't 1970 and Democrats are as far from the party as peace as possible. Makes sense though -- after enacting Nixon's health care plan and Republican free trade wet dreams, they might as well be warmongering assholes. They sure have no qualms using the power of government illegally in their attempts to take back the white house.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 23 2020, @08:04PM (1 child)
You've gone senile, better get re-tested for your driver's license.
(Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Monday August 24 2020, @06:14AM
2 wars to 7: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/peace-president-how-obama-came-to-bomb-seven-countries-in-six-years-9753131.html [independent.co.uk]
You're right about my criticism of "Nixon's HC plan" -- Nixon's was more liberal: https://www.livescience.com/51536-health-care-debates-political-opportunism.html [livescience.com]
Obamagate -- tip meet iceberg: https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/14/kevin-clinesmith-corrupt-fbi-attorney-who-falsified-carter-page-fisa-warrant-expected-to-plead-guilty/ [thefederalist.com] All Nixon did was a little robbery. This was using perjury to get a secret court -- secret courts are so fash -- to violate the 4A rights of an opposition candidate. That's fucking ugly coup level shit. If you're partisanship can't let you see that, then all that's left for you is to embrace neoliberal neoauthoritarianism, death squads like Obama ran, and enforced conformity of ideology. Dark shit.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Sunday August 23 2020, @02:29PM
Does not the one preclude the other? Rising waters usually wet land. Drying lands usually shed water.
We know what you're trying to say, but your composition is funny.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1) by HammeredGlass on Sunday August 23 2020, @02:35PM
Some top Google engineers were tasked with finding that out years ago.
It is too late. Even if we went back to pre-industrial emission levels TODAY, it would still result in hundreds of years of climate disruption going forward.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/what-it-would-really-take-to-reverse-climate-change [ieee.org]