Some perspective On Hyped Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapses
Posted by jennifer
March 26, 2008
http://www.jennifermarohasy.com/blog/archives/002869.html
There is an Australian e-journal that is popular with many
government-types called crikey.com.au. Today the lead story began,
"A chunk of ice seven times the size of Manhattan (as big as the Isle of
Man if you prefer a more Anglo-centric news source) is hanging by a
thread to the main, still-frozen body of the western Antarctic.
Satellite images are showing the rapid disintegration of a 41km x 2.5km
ice chunk, a part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf that has been there for
hundreds, maybe 1,500 years. It is happening, the scientific consensus
seems to be, because the seas are getting warmer. It's that greenhouse
thing.
So, what to do? Blame China? No, we need to take individual
responsibility. Wait on the Garnaut report? No, too little too late. We
must act now ... of course! Let's turn some lights off on Saturday. For
an hour. That'll fix it. Meanwhile, click on the image below to watch a
video of what Earth Hour is up against." [end of quote]
Anyway, that's about as clever as it gets even from the so-called
alternative media and the story is much the same in The Australian.
Then of course there are the blogs, including some which actually
provide data and background information to put the collapse of the
icesheet in some context:
"In reality it and all the former shelves that collapsed are small and
most near the Antarctic peninsula which sticks well out from Antarctica
into the currents and winds of the South Atlantic and lies in a
tectonically active region with surface and subsurface active volcanic
activity. The vast continent has actually cooled since 1979...
"The full Wilkins 6,000 square mile ice shelf is just 0.39% of the
current ice sheet (just 0.1% of the extent last September). Only a small
portion of it between 1/10th-1/20th of Wilkins has separated so far,
like an icicle falling off a snow and ice covered house. And this winter
is coming on quickly. In fact the ice is returning so fast, it is
running an amazing 60% ahead (4.0 vs 2.5 million square km extent) of
last year when it set a new record. The ice extent is already
approaching the second highest level for extent since the measurements
began by satellite in 1979 and just a few days into the Southern
Hemisphere winter and 6 months ahead of the peak. Wilkins like all the
others that temporarily broke up will refreeze soon. We are very likely
going to exceed last year's record. Yet the world is left with the false
impression Antarctica's ice sheet is also starting to disappear."
Read the complete blog post and check out meteorologist Joseph D'Aleo
graphs at http://icecap.us/index.php/go/political-climate
--
Warmest Regards
Bonzo
The Fourth Report of the IPCC might just as well decree the
suppression of all climatology textbooks, and replace them in our
schools with press communiqués. ... Day after day, the same mantra -
that 'the Earth is warming up' - is churned out in all its forms. As
'the
ice melts' and 'sea level rises' the Apocalypse looms ever nearer!
Without realizing it, or perhaps without wishing to, the average
citizen in bamboozled, lobotomized, and lulled into mindless acceptance.
... Non-believers in the greenhouse scenario are in the
position of those long ago who doubted the existence of God ...
Marcel Leroux
It should be abundantly clear by now that the AGW hypothesis is
contradicted by the facts/measurements/observations and should
therefore be abandoned and be substituted by a hypothesis which
better matches the facts.
- Hans Labohm
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