[2021-06-17 15:18:18 UTC] Update: Added links to journal article and video... Thanks to AC's comments!--martyb]
Reporting on the Associated Press
A critical Antarctic glacier is looking more vulnerable as satellite images show the ice shelf that blocks it from collapsing into the sea is breaking up much faster than before and spawning huge icebergs, a new study says.
The Pine Island Glacier's ice shelf loss accelerated in 2017, causing scientists to worry that with climate change the glacier's collapse could happen quicker than the many centuries predicted. The floating ice shelf acts like a cork in a bottle for the fast-melting glacier and prevents its much larger ice mass from flowing into the ocean.
That ice shelf has retreated by 12 miles (20 kilometers) between 2017 and 2020, according to a study in Friday's Science Advances The crumbling shelf was caught on time-lapse video from a European satellite that takes pictures every six days.
"You can see stuff just tearing apart," said study lead author Ian Joughin, a University of Washington glaciologist. "So it almost looks like the speed-up itself is weakening the glacier. ... And so far we've lost maybe 20% of the main shelf."
Between 2017 and 2020, there were three large breakup events, creating icebergs more than 5 miles (8 kilometers) long and 22 miles (36 kilometers) wide, which then split into lots of littler pieces, Joughin said. There also were many smaller breakups.
"It's not at all inconceivable that the whole shelf could give way and go within a few years," Joughin said. "I'd say that's a long shot, but not a very long shot."
Joughin tracked two points on the main glacier and found they were moving 12% faster toward the sea starting in 2017.
A watched pot never boils, but a watched glacier tries to impress us with its speed?
A 4m55s video from the study is available at https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/suppl/2021/06/07/7.24.eabg3080.DC1/abg3080_Movie_S1.mp4
Journal Reference:
Ian Joughin, Daniel Shapero, Ben Smith, et al. Ice-shelf retreat drives recent Pine Island Glacier speedup [open], Science Advances (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg3080)
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Thursday June 17 2021, @09:12AM (7 children)
I'll tell you what: I'm more impressed by the glacier than by that lame comment - and the glacier isn't even trying to impress anybody.
I really wish the editors quit trying to add something witty, insightful or funny at the end of each post, because more often than not it's neither of those things.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @10:41AM
"We are not amused" is shorter.
Relax buddy.
(Score: 4, Informative) by martyb on Thursday June 17 2021, @11:41AM (4 children)
That quote was in the original submission. Just click the Original Submission [soylentnews.org] link that appears below it.
So, Eratosthenes should be the one receiving proper credit for that statement!
We have a few submitters who are known for adding far more elaborate "witty, insightful or funny" commentary to their submissions.
On the one hand, we generally try to make minimal changes to story submissions thereby preserving what they wrote. On the other hand, we have site guidelines that we try to uphold so as to present a consistent structure, appearance, and "feel" to the stories we post to the site. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes... not so much.
I've noticed stories with a "personal touch" tend to get more participation, so I generally lean towards leaving them in. Each editor is different. I will certainly take your feedback into consideration in the future.
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DeathMonkey on Thursday June 17 2021, @03:30PM (2 children)
I like a little personal touch so long as it's not offtopic or jarringly random. (although I don't add them to any of my submissions)
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @03:50PM (1 child)
Leave the personal touching to the pros. A watch pot never boils but... wait for the punchline... FUCK YOU.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Thursday June 17 2021, @03:58PM
The punchline is that you ARE a pro at personal touching!
(Score: 2) by Eratosthenes on Thursday June 17 2021, @08:48PM
Rosco seems to be have a bad day. We should take the pot/glacier approach, and not look at him. And do not downmod, he's sensitive that way.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @12:22PM
I'm not really sure why you think this was something that was added by the editors, but whatever. If that's the greatest thing you have to complain about in your life right now then consider yourself lucky.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @01:30PM (2 children)
goes to current issue (25), the ice shelf paper is at:
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/24 [sciencemag.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @01:36PM (1 child)
or just the video:
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/suppl/2021/06/07/7.24.eabg3080.DC1/abg3080_Movie_S1.mp4 [sciencemag.org]
(Score: 2) by martyb on Thursday June 17 2021, @04:13PM
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 5, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday June 17 2021, @01:47PM (13 children)
There must be some reason why the Antarctic glaciers are melting.
Is it possible there could be some scientific explanation that is backed up by measured data?
Can this be tied to any other observable effects elsewhere on the planet?
It would be good if scientists could somehow explain the cause of this.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 3, Spam) by DeathMonkey on Thursday June 17 2021, @03:37PM (7 children)
Jewish and Italian [independent.co.uk] Space Lasers, DUH!!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Thursday June 17 2021, @04:18PM (5 children)
Damn, TRIGGERED!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Thursday June 17 2021, @06:36PM (2 children)
They are triggered when you merely report truthfully on something their dear leader god emperor actually said or did.
OMG you're using Trump's own words/actions against him! How unfair!
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @07:08PM (1 child)
Just that sock puppet for the "jew jew jew" AC spammer angry that you get to use the word but they get modded spam for their racist baiting. I get sadder by the day with how immature and stupid so many adult humans are.
(Score: 2) by Anti-aristarchus on Thursday June 17 2021, @08:39PM
This is a spam mod that should be rescinded.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anti-aristarchus on Friday June 18 2021, @12:11AM (1 child)
Admins! Calling Admins! Uncalled for spam mod thrown! If sarcasm is spam, then SN is well and truely dead. Please remove this spam mod, and punish the modder!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 18 2021, @06:11PM
Prepare for the racist dbags to claim they shoyldn't be modded spam for reasons.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 19 2021, @10:38AM
Could this be our very first +5 spam? If it weren't for the giant karma hit, we could leave it for posterity.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @04:21PM
Is it the same reason why glaciers melted hundreds of years ago?
In Europe, retreating glaciers are exposing artifacts showing what used to be major roads (call them trails, if you prefer) in centuries past.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @04:30PM (2 children)
Yeah. Something human-related, such as misreporting.
https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2361/study-mass-gains-of-antarctic-ice-sheet-greater-than-losses/ [nasa.gov]
(Score: 4, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Thursday June 17 2021, @05:01PM (1 child)
ideo: Antarctic Ice Mass Loss 2002-2020 [nasa.gov]
That's some pretty impressive cherry-picking, though. A single study from 2015 with the following disclaimer:
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @06:35PM
I very much hope you still are able to understand the difference between a scientific article (a thing with DATA for you to READ) and a PR video (a thing with FEELZ for you to WATCH)?
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Friday June 18 2021, @03:13AM
So how do we fix it? Ask the Forest Service to alter the orbits of the Moon and/or Earth?
(Score: 1) by js290 on Thursday June 17 2021, @02:14PM (5 children)
Observation (glacier, melt) vs Concept (ice shelf, faster)... off base concepts... make mgmt decisions in wrong direction [bit.ly]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @03:34PM
Mgmt is irelevant, just take care of those shrooms [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday June 17 2021, @03:40PM (3 children)
I don't like argumentum ad youtubum.
Maybe use your words to get your point across?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @03:46PM
> to get your point across?
She doesn't have one.
(Score: 1) by js290 on Friday June 18 2021, @01:49AM (1 child)
Who are you? Genetic fallacy much?
Mark Shepard on Restoration Agriculture - "Annual agriculture is all about living through our concepts... our idea we've imposed on reality & when reality doesn't behave according to our idea, what do we do? We input... we can never input enough to make our false concept correct." [bit.ly]
(Score: 2, Informative) by khallow on Friday June 18 2021, @04:27AM
I don't like argumentum ad youtubum either. This sort of narrative verbiage is a big part of the reason why. At least in a webpage, I can skim over the crap and find the meat, if there is any.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @04:11PM (2 children)
I’ve been doing laundry loads with hot water, I’ll use cold from now on, promise.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday June 17 2021, @06:44PM
You don't use water to do laundry! [youtube.com]
This is the 1965 notion of how laundry might be done outside your spaceship in the future of 1997.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Friday June 18 2021, @03:08AM
The really criminal appliance is the powered clothes dryer. Clothes dry just fine when hung up. Wonder how many people don't know that now.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @09:07PM (1 child)
well supposedly evaporating water requires some energy?
if the climate gets warmer, more water melts and then more water evaporates?
one assumes that all energy input for water evaporation comes from the sun and is "used" to change phase (liquid to gas) AND do work against gravity (clouds)?
methinks "runaway" planetary warming is irreversible if there is no more solid form of water available.
the "gravitational" component of the climate engine is missing a part, a solid part?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 17 2021, @10:34PM
actually afaik the general pattern of the greenhouse effect causes a hystereisis loop. That is, more heat leads to the mechanisms which subduct carbon into the Earth's crust becoming faster, so in ten million years or so all the CO2 and methane gets sucked down into the mantle and without gasses in the atmosphere to retain heat, the surface becomes cooler, leading to an ice age.
For practical purposes this doesn't matter at all, but it just goes to show that global warming will definitely not cause a runaway greenhouse effect like Venus (which has no tectonic activity).