Greenland Glacier 4X Size of Manhattan Breaks Loose
This really struck me as a fascinating piece of science news:
A University of Delaware researcher reports that an “ice island” four times the size of Manhattan has calved from Greenland’s Petermann Glacier. The last time the Arctic lost such a large chunk of ice was in 1962.
“In the early morning hours of August 5, 2010, an ice island four times the size of Manhattan was born in northern Greenland,” said Andreas Muenchow, associate professor of physical ocean science and engineering at the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. Muenchow’s research in Nares Strait, between Greenland and Canada, is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
These sorts of things are not the usual run if the mill events . . .
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Source:
Greenland glacier calves island 4 times the size of Manhattan
University of Delaware 1:40 p.m., Aug. 6, 2010
http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2011/aug/greenland080610.html?loc=interstitialskip
Hat tip boingboing
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August 6th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Oh, for goodness sakes…it’s like Lays potato chips….we’ll make more! Chicken Little says, “The sky is falling!” Sorry, don’t buy it. If it were the case, what exactly are you doing, Barry, to correct the situation…or are you waiting for others to do their part. That’s not leadership…it’s “you first”. Welcome to global warming world. You’ll feel comfortable…and find a lot of company.
Tell us what you’ve done to avoid the maelstrom instead of merely pointing out the nonsense.
You’ve deleted previous anti-global warming posts (fully documented), so I fully expect this one to be deleted as well. If so, then I have confirmation.
Thank you…have a nice weekend.
Steve W.
August 6th, 2010 at 11:03 pm
“The massive calving of the ice-shelf is likely part of a natural cycle for Petermann Glacier rather than a dramatic change that has never been seen before, Muenchow said.”
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/08/ice-breaks-off/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29/
I fully expect this line above to get ignored by many in the media.
August 6th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
This is great news!!
At $100 a barrel, that would be $5 trillion worth of oil trapped under the Greenland ice!
http://j.mp/asZW1f
August 6th, 2010 at 11:07 pm
The ice itself is probably thousands of years old, would be interesting to know what artefacts are inside.
August 6th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Maybe we can securitize some real estate there?
August 6th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
I wonder if you could tow it to the Persian they would probably be happy to swap oil for water. Probably not on a 1:1 basis. It would be interesting to calculate how much power would be required to tow it, how long it would take, how much would be left once you got there and how long it would last. I’m sure a first year physics student could tell you but I have no clues.
August 7th, 2010 at 12:00 am
@BR: Get over it (snark ) :>)
Where are the five top most obscure rock albums?
Maine? Very cool. Hope you’re enjoying it. DUH.
August 7th, 2010 at 1:12 am
The thing is, this is probably a good thing. It will probably stay within its fjord and then become frozen during the annual freeze up, and plug the Nares strait. If it does plug it, it will stay that way for a long time. It will also result in an increase in sea ice volume and extent.
Also, for clarity, Calving does not = melting. It happens all the time. It also does not occur solely during declining/retreating glacial cycles, but happens when glaciers are advancing/expanding as well.
@ V – generally speaking, glacier ice is not 1000′s of years old. Permafrost is, but glacier ice is not. See Myth #3: http://ak.water.usgs.gov/glaciology/FAQ.htm
Though, there was a British Naval ship recently recovered from sea ice that was abandoned in 1853 in the NW Passage.
http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2010/08/ship-find-shows-arctic-sea-ice.html
August 7th, 2010 at 6:22 am
To the reading comprehension impaired emailers:
Nothing above suggested this had anything to do with Global Climate Change; I said it “struck me as a fascinating piece of news.” (heh heh your guilty subconsciouses must be bothering you)
Perhaps if I added the word “science” before news . . .
August 7th, 2010 at 6:45 am
Not News but Flash: Nature is wild and happening all the time and in size…same as the dozens of biochemical reactions absolutely necessary to keep you up right now. The fact that most all pay such little attention to these marvels taken “for granted” (as in entitled), only makes it all the more awesome and speaks volumes how most are happy inside our own heads self-medicating with chemicals or electronic networking connectors rather than being out there. I’m glad you took note of our neighbor to the North, we could use a chunk of ice right now.
August 7th, 2010 at 7:51 am
“Nothing to see here, move along people. Let’s go about our business folks, come on . . .”
It doesn’t matter whether it’s climate change induced or not, the cumulative effect is that our environment is changing. It’s definitely getting hotter, weather is becoming more severe and extreme in many cases, and cumulatively speaking, it will have a pronounced effect on us and all the other species of plants, animals, marine life and insects we rely on for survival in the (ever shortening) “long run.”
It happens incrementally and chaotically, and our “way of life” (like the Gulf oil “spill”) ain’t helpin’. It’s all connected (our individual actions and those of the earth), whether we wish to believe it or not.
i don’t expect anything to change for the better since i firmly believe that humanity is too ignorant for it’s own good (as evidenced by the massive corruption and lack of leadership by governments and corporations, denial of any involvement or refusal to change any of our behaviors to perhaps slow down our carbon emissions – just in case it may have some ameliorating effect – and our non-stewardship of the global ecos: from air to land to water – it’s all turned in to a free sewer for corporate benefit).
August 7th, 2010 at 8:51 am
Oh sweet! Now Sarah Palin can move there and become queen of Palinland
August 7th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Roll on global warming.
Think of all the lives spared from exposure and influenza.
And all the fossil fuel saved because of reduced heating bills.
August 7th, 2010 at 9:37 am
This, for example, is happening in the state where i reside:
http://www.truth-out.org/gas-companies-drilling-pennsylvania-have-committed-nearly-1500-environmental-violations-just-two-yea
August 7th, 2010 at 11:04 am
There’s a good page about sea ice
http://wattsupwiththat.com/sea-ice-page/
The Arctic ice, while still below average, has been increasing since 2007. The Antarctic is doing better, and the southern ice sea anomaly is as far above average as the northern ice is below.
August 7th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
When we eat steak we are just 1 degree away from grass. Kill the grass, and kill the cow. How much Wall Street Profit will buy food that doesn’t exist. This is a stupid game of monopoly, where the rich amass huge fortunes of wealth, extracting and burning oil and coal, only to make it WORTHLESS by ignoring the Negative Externalities of Coal and Oil. Worse yet, committing FRAUD on their shareholders by spending Corporate Money on Global Warming Propaganda Campaigns.
There is a 3 Continent Global Drought going on today.
Russia in flames, wheat in shortage, invasive species in migration.
Where is the news of this global event?
There is a hidden heavy COAL TAX being paid right now.
August 7th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
http://www.trulia.com/home_prices/
Is there a strong correlation between heat waves and dropping home prices?
August 7th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
@DrungoHazewood:
Sorry, but I am a little skeptical of sites with “Climategate”, etc as their main agenda and who’s author’s main claim to scientific legitimacy is that he is a former weatherman.
Here is a NASA site with satellite measurements of Antarctic ice decreasing, and at an accelerating rate.
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/20100108_Is_Antarctica_Melting.html
August 7th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
It will be interesting to see if this story has legs.
August 7th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Deniers often like to point out and remind people of Climategate everytime new evidence of global warming appears. But I would actually like people to look at what happened to the people in the Climategate scandal. There were 5 investigations filed. NOTHING FOUND! Just some frustrated missives in a couple of emails out of thousands.
Let’s call this what this is. These scientists got the “Andrew Breitbart Treatment”.