The "flood" from global warming is bullshit....

BlkbrryTheGreat · Post by **BlkbrryTheGreat** » 2003-05-22 05:53pm

Global warming "experts" typically predicts that the Earth will warm by an average of 2-3 degrees over the next 100 years; which will in term cause the ice caps to melt causing a global rising of sea level (aka a "flood"). I guess no one bothered to tell them that the mean annual temperature of Antarctica is Minus 57° Celsius!

I thought i should point this out to discourage that type of bullshit on this forum.

That is all...

NapoleonGH · Post by **NapoleonGH** » 2003-05-22 06:16pm

actually the experts say nothing of the sort. According to a lecture I recieved at the Lamont Earth Observatory (part of Columbia U) the modern theory for the effects on global warming is as follows.

1. The northern ice shelf over greenland and the "north pole" will melt to a degree, what you failed to realize in your little post is that if you think about it, the caps end at a point far enough towards the equater where the temperature is above 273 K, if the mean global temp went up then that area would move farther north/south, increasing the melting.
2. Becuase of the extreme temperature the southern antartic ice cap will probably grow by about the same amount as the northern ice cap melts.

THe "flood" suggested as a result of global warming is in fact due to thermal expansion in the oceans. As the oceans slowly adopt to the newer temperatures globally (assume 3 K increase at most. takes decades/centuries for the oceans to have the deepest parts seriously effected by this change) They expand, causing an increase in water level which if i recall correctly tapers off between 100-200 m increases in sea level. This would make my house beechfront property, so i want a little global warming to happen.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2003-05-22 09:45pm

The little worry is the west antarctic ice sheet. If the oceans expand too fast from ice melting, then we get 2-3 meters of water.

The big one is the east antarctic ice sheet is the biggie, that one could add 10-15 meters to sea level.

The greatest concern, though, is what all the extra fresh water would do to our oceans. If salinity drops too low, the Ocean Thermal Conveyor (OTC) will shut off, and there won't be the same currents we've been having for the past 600,000 years or so.

Colder climates will get colder, and warm climates will get warmer. Glaciers and drouts.

That's what global warming can do.

Since the industrial revolution, the period of time in which the north sea is navigible during the year has increased by almost a month. Now, you can sail around asia through the north 4 months out of the year.

Of course, in 500 years we're in for an ice age anyway, so global warming may end up giving us extra time.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-05-22 10:08pm

I don't think the flood part is what we should give our greatest concern to. I'm more worried about changing weather patterns that could pose a threat to argiculture in underdeveloped countries.

Acacia · Post by **Acacia** » 2003-05-22 11:56pm

Mother Earth is a fickle and mercurial caregiver.

It isn't just underdeveloped countries that should be concerned. Places such as the Great Plains region of the US are possibly facing climate changes due to shifting weather patterns in the near future. Given the economic, social, and ecological concerns dependent on factors such as temperature and rainfall new assessment strategies are and need to be made. Projections theorize an increase in both temperature and rainfall over the next century. Possibly up to a 50% increase in winter precipitation alone.

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2003-05-23 12:15am

Actualy with the existance of the water conveyour belt beneath the oceans, it is entirely likely that initial global warming will disrupt this system. With the belt turned off, there will not be warm water moving north to help melt the poles. In turn the poles will get very cold. By contrast the tropics will get very warm. There is a reason why the glaciers only went so far south durring the ice age. The heat difference between the equator and the poles was significant. In the equator is was warming then we know it today while the poles were some of the nastiest winter conditions ever.

So this global warming we are having now could trigger the next ice age...

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-05-23 12:27am

Alyeska wrote:So this global warming we are having now could trigger the next ice age...

Interesting. I was worried about it getting too hot. Cold better. California needs to see some snow.

FireNexus · Post by **FireNexus** » 2003-05-23 12:28am

I always follow one simple belief: We can't beat the earth. Short of setting off enough ground-burst nukes to blanket the entire earth in radiation, nothing we can do can really have much of a lasting effect. Even then, the effect wouldn't be infinite, and things would survive.

Honestly, we'll kill ourselves off, and things will even out. And if we don't, we're gonna have a hell of a time doing any damage in about ten-twenty thousand years, because we'll be living with some new, adapted species. Species that are resistant to us.

(I know evolution is supposed to take millions of years, but I always thought Darwin's theory was bad at accounting for quick changes.)

This planet's eco-system has taken pounding after pounding, and it always bounces back, a little better than before. We're the next big thing in evolution. Of course, I could just be a moron.

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-05-23 05:19am

the ice caps in the poles are not a permanent fixture by any means - the Earth fluctuates between Ice House (ice caps at poles) and Greenhouse (no ice caps) phases - guess which one we're in now.
Of course, the existence of a ruddy great continent at a pole makes the current situation a bit special, as a lot of ice is not in the ocean now.
In terms of shifts on a shorter timescale - the glacial/interglacial cycles, we're long overdue for a glacial phase (sorry, ice age).

The biggest thing I'm worred about is local climate. If the Gulf Stream shifts any frther south (due to an influx of fresh water from the Norwegian Sea as the Arctic ice melts) then Britain's going to be pklunged into Canadian weather.
I like my warm summers/mild winters.

apocolypse · Post by **apocolypse** » 2003-05-23 07:47pm

Shinova wrote:
Alyeska wrote:So this global warming we are having now could trigger the next ice age...
Interesting. I was worried about it getting too hot. Cold better. California needs to see some snow.

Ugh, I hate the cold, no thanks...and Cali already gets a lot of snow, just not near the ocean.

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2003-05-23 10:02pm

apocolypse wrote: Ugh, I hate the cold, no thanks...and Cali already gets a lot of snow, just not near the ocean.

Bah. Fine, California need more snow. Cold=Good.

Straha · Post by **Straha** » 2003-05-24 12:57am

Am I missing something here? The north pole has no land right? So if it melts it merely diffuses into water which it already has displaced, meaning no rise in level at all.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-05-24 02:46am

Straha wrote:Am I missing something here? The north pole has no land right? So if it melts it merely diffuses into water which it already has displaced, meaning no rise in level at all.

Yeah, the north pole is kinda like an ice cube. If it melts your glass will not over flow. But global warming would affect both poles.

Darth Gojira · Post by **Darth Gojira** » 2003-05-24 07:23am

No wonder I hated "Waterworld"!

Post by **Beowulf** » 2003-05-24 04:44pm

There is an alternate theory stating that we would be in an ice age right now if it weren't for global warming, and all that's keeping it at bay is the extra CO2 and other gases we're putting into the atmosphere.

Dark Primus · Post by **Dark Primus** » 2003-05-25 10:28am

One thing for sure. When it gets colder I'm moving south. I probably will get a lot more rain then I am used to.

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2003-05-26 11:19am

Well as the GHE takes more and more energy and holds it closer to the earth, the climate will become more and more unstable and violent, lots more heat energy can be turned into kinetic energy inside tornadoes, hurricanes, heavy storms, etc.

And if the North Pole melts then HUGE ammounts of methane will be released into the atmosphere. Read the book Mother of Storms by John Barnes.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-05-26 11:45am

SyntaxVorlon wrote: Read the book Mother of Storms by John Barnes.

Or watch the CGI based parts of The Core.

...

What?