"The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, Division of Polar Programs."...."The 2004 science fiction movie "The Day After Tomorrow" — and the operative word here is "fiction" — opened with a portion of the West Antarctic ice sheet shearing off as a prelude to planetary doom."...
12/7/13, "West Antarctic Ice Melt; Water or Fire?" Canada Free Press, Tim Birdnow
"Poor Global Warming just can’t catch a break. Planetary temperatures aren’t cooperating, nor is the rate of sea level rise, and now even West Antarctica seems to be gouging James Hansen in the eye.
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered a chain of active volcanoes under the West Antarctic ice sheet.
This is interesting because West Antarctica is the region that Global Warming hysterics (the Gang Green) point to as “proof” that Global Warming is happening to the southernmost polar region.
Now we see there may be another reason for ice loss in WAIS.
From the press release:
"Will the new volcano erupt? “Definitely,” Lough said. “In fact, because the radar shows a mountain beneath the ice, I think it has erupted in the past, before the rumblings we recorded.”
Will the eruptions punch through a kilometer or more of ice above it?
The scientists calculated that an enormous eruption, one that released 1,000 times more energy than the typical eruption, would be necessary to breach the ice above the volcano....
On the other hand, a subglacial eruption and the accompanying heat flow will melt a lot of ice. “The volcano will create millions of gallons of water beneath the ice—many lakes full,” Wiens said.
This water will rush beneath the ice toward the sea and feed into the hydrological catchment of the MacAyeal Ice Stream, one of several major ice streams draining ice from Marie Byrd Land into the Ross Ice Shelf.
By lubricating the bedrock, it will speed the flow of the overlying ice, perhaps increasing the rate of ice-mass loss in West Antarctica.
“We weren’t expecting to find anything like this,” Wiens said."
Which means that we will have precisely the situation we have witnessed in WAIS; an acceleration in ice shelf collapse there.
In other words, carbon dioxide has nothing to do with it.
This contradicts claims by NASA which blames West Antarctic Ice Sheet loss on warm ocean currents.
From the June 2013 press release:
“The study uses reconstructions of ice accumulation, satellite and aircraft readings of ice thickness, and changes in elevation and ice velocity to determine how fast ice shelves melt and compare the mass lost with the amount released by the calving, or splitting, of icebergs.
“The traditional view on Antarctic mass loss is it is almost entirely controlled by iceberg calving,” said Eric Rignot of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the University of California, Irvine. Rignot is lead author of the study to be published in the June 14 issue of the journal Science. “Our study shows melting from below by the ocean waters is larger, and this should change our perspective on the evolution of the ice sheet in a warming climate.”
Ice shelves grow through a combination of land ice flowing to the sea and snow accumulating on their surface. To determine how much ice and snowfall enters a specific ice shelf and how much makes it to an iceberg, where it may split off, the research team used a regional climate model for snow accumulation and combined the results with ice velocity data from satellites, ice shelf thickness measurements from NASA’s Operation IceBridge - an continuing aerial survey of Earth’s poles - and a new map of Antarctica’s bedrock.
Using this information, Rignot and colleagues were able to deduce whether the ice shelf was losing mass through basal melting or gaining it through the basal freezing of seawater.
In some places, basal melt exceeds iceberg calving. In other places, the opposite is true. But in total, Antarctic ice shelves lost 2,921 trillion pounds (1,325 trillion kilograms) of ice per year in 2003-2008 through basal melt, while iceberg formation accounted for 2,400 trillion pounds (1,089 trillion kilograms) of mass loss each year.
Basal melt can have a greater impact on ocean circulation than glacier calving. Icebergs slowly release melt water as they drift away from the continent. But strong melting near deep grounding lines, where glaciers lose their grip on the seafloor and start floating as ice shelves, discharges large quantities of fresher, lighter water near the Antarctic coast line. This lower-density water does not mix and sink as readily as colder, saltier water, and may be changing the rate of bottom water renewal.”
At the same time, Antarctic sea ice extent is at an all time high.
This makes no sense if you assume carbon dioxide is warming the atmosphere and thus leading to ice melt. In fact, it makes no sense if you assume the missing heat, the warming that is supposedly happening because of Global Warming but cannot be found, is going into the oceans, either. Sea ice forms because it is cold, plain and simple, and it is not moved out by ocean currents.
And a review of the Icesat satellite data from the time period of 1992 to 2008 showed a net gain in ice mass in Antarctica as well.
Now we know what caused this basal melt - not warm ocean currents but volcanoes underneath the ice.
It should be further pointed out that the number of small Antarctic icebergs have not risen; Nasa is correct in not attributing iceberg calving on the increase in sea ice. (see figures 5 and 6.) Antarctic icebergs - unlike their Arctic cousins that are spawned by glaciers - form when a section of ice breaks off an ice shelf. If the WAIC were disintegrating we would should see more icebergs. We do not, which lead NASA to make the claim that the ice was melting from beneath, a result of deep, warm ocean currents. But now we know that ice is melting not from warm water but from geothermal activity.
The case for Global Warming grows increasingly thin. Sea levels actually dropped in 2010 , and their rise has slowed significantly in the last few years. What does that mean?
It means more ice at the poles, or more water vapor in the atmosphere. If water vapor levels have risen we should see an increase in precipitation worldwide. There is no evidence of that.
Unless the extra water is hiding in the deep oceans along with that missing heat. It’s getting crowded down there." via Free Rep.
=============================
"The discovery of the new as-yet-unnamed volcano is announced in the Nov. 17 advance online issue of Nature Geoscience.".
11/17/13, "Volcano discovered smoldering under a kilometer of ice in West Antarctica," Washington University in St. Louis, Diana Lutz
"Its heat may increase the rate of ice loss from one of the continent’s major ice streams."
"It wasn’t what they were looking for — but that only made the discovery all the more exciting.
In January 2010, a team of scientists had set up two crossing lines of seismographs across Marie Byrd Land in West Antarctica. It was the first time the scientists had deployed many instruments in the interior of the continent that could operate year-round even in the coldest parts of Antarctica.
Like a giant CT machine, the seismograph array used disturbances created by distant earthquakes to make images of the ice and rock deep within West Antarctica.
There were big questions to be asked and answered. The goal, said Doug Wiens, PhD, was essentially to weigh the ice sheet to help reconstruct Antarctica’s climate history. (Wiens is a professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and one of the project’s principal investigators.) But to do this accurately, the scientists had to know how the earth’s mantle would respond to an ice burden, and that depended on whether it was hot and fluid or cool and viscous. The seismic data would allow them to map the mantle’s properties.
In the meantime, automated-event-detection software was put to work to comb the data for anything unusual.
When it found two bursts of seismic events between January 2010 and March 2011, Wiens’ PhD student Amanda Lough looked more closely to see what was rattling the continent’s bones.
Was it rock grinding on rock, ice groaning over ice, or, perhaps, hot gases and liquid rock forcing their way through cracks in a volcanic complex?
Uncertain at first, the more Lough and her colleagues looked, the more convinced they became that a new volcano was forming a kilometer beneath the ice.
The discovery of the new as-yet-unnamed volcano is announced in the Nov. 17 advance online issue of Nature Geoscience."..."The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, Division of Polar Programs."
============================
12/3/2013, "Global sea ice areal extent at highest level since 1994; southern hemisphere continues on an amazing run," thesiweather.com
"Discussion"
"The southern hemisphere sea ice areal extent continues its recent impressive run at daily record high levels when compared to all prior years in the satellite record-keeping era which began in 1979. This stretch of daily record high sea ice areal extent in the southern hemisphere has actually been occurring for the past several weeks. In fact, the southern hemisphere sea ice areal extent has had quite an amazing run during the past few years from below normal levels to the current well above normal values (above map courtesy University of Illinois "cryosphere"). On a global basis, sea ice areal extent is currently above normal and, in fact, has now reached levels not seen since around 1994 - thanks in large part to the happenings in the southern hemisphere.
The northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent is still below normal for this time of year although it has gained significantly compared to one year ago. In general, the northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent has been at below normal levels since the mid 1990’s. Two distinct trend lines can be seen in the northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent dating back to 1979. First, the northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent featured an “above normal” and general “sideways” trend until the mid 1990’s and then, following that point in time, there has been an overall downward trend to the current below normal values. This directional change in trend during the mid 1990’s correlates quite well with a northern Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperature cycle that is tracked by meteorologists through an index called the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Indeed, the Atlantic Ocean has a significant impact on northern hemisphere sea ice and the AMO index flipped in phase during the mid 1990’s from negative (cold) to positive (warm), and the northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent has been in a general downward trend ever since. Once the northern Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperatures flip back to cooler-than-normal values – perhaps 5 or 10 years from now - the northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent should return to the normal or above normal levels seen prior to the mid 1990’s.Video"
============================
8/31/2011, "Der Spiegel: Global Warming now causes sea level drop...through weather shifts," Pierre Goselin, NoTricksZone.com
=============================
9/10/12, "ICESAT Data Shows Mass Gains of the Antarctic Ice Sheet Exceed Losses," WUWT, Anthony Watts
============================
NASA press release
6/13/2013, "Warm Ocean Causing Most Antarctic Ice Shelf Mass Loss," NASA.gov
============================
12/10/13, "Fire And Ice — Volcanoes, Not CO2, Melt West Antarctic," IBD Editorial
.
"It wasn’t what they were looking for — but that only made the discovery all the more exciting.
In January 2010, a team of scientists had set up two crossing lines of seismographs across Marie Byrd Land in West Antarctica. It was the first time the scientists had deployed many instruments in the interior of the continent that could operate year-round even in the coldest parts of Antarctica.
Like a giant CT machine, the seismograph array used disturbances created by distant earthquakes to make images of the ice and rock deep within West Antarctica.
There were big questions to be asked and answered. The goal, said Doug Wiens, PhD, was essentially to weigh the ice sheet to help reconstruct Antarctica’s climate history. (Wiens is a professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and one of the project’s principal investigators.) But to do this accurately, the scientists had to know how the earth’s mantle would respond to an ice burden, and that depended on whether it was hot and fluid or cool and viscous. The seismic data would allow them to map the mantle’s properties.
In the meantime, automated-event-detection software was put to work to comb the data for anything unusual.
When it found two bursts of seismic events between January 2010 and March 2011, Wiens’ PhD student Amanda Lough looked more closely to see what was rattling the continent’s bones.
Was it rock grinding on rock, ice groaning over ice, or, perhaps, hot gases and liquid rock forcing their way through cracks in a volcanic complex?
Uncertain at first, the more Lough and her colleagues looked, the more convinced they became that a new volcano was forming a kilometer beneath the ice.
The discovery of the new as-yet-unnamed volcano is announced in the Nov. 17 advance online issue of Nature Geoscience."..."The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, Division of Polar Programs."
============================
12/3/2013, "Global sea ice areal extent at highest level since 1994; southern hemisphere continues on an amazing run," thesiweather.com
"Discussion"
"The southern hemisphere sea ice areal extent continues its recent impressive run at daily record high levels when compared to all prior years in the satellite record-keeping era which began in 1979. This stretch of daily record high sea ice areal extent in the southern hemisphere has actually been occurring for the past several weeks. In fact, the southern hemisphere sea ice areal extent has had quite an amazing run during the past few years from below normal levels to the current well above normal values (above map courtesy University of Illinois "cryosphere"). On a global basis, sea ice areal extent is currently above normal and, in fact, has now reached levels not seen since around 1994 - thanks in large part to the happenings in the southern hemisphere.
The northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent is still below normal for this time of year although it has gained significantly compared to one year ago. In general, the northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent has been at below normal levels since the mid 1990’s. Two distinct trend lines can be seen in the northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent dating back to 1979. First, the northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent featured an “above normal” and general “sideways” trend until the mid 1990’s and then, following that point in time, there has been an overall downward trend to the current below normal values. This directional change in trend during the mid 1990’s correlates quite well with a northern Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperature cycle that is tracked by meteorologists through an index called the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Indeed, the Atlantic Ocean has a significant impact on northern hemisphere sea ice and the AMO index flipped in phase during the mid 1990’s from negative (cold) to positive (warm), and the northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent has been in a general downward trend ever since. Once the northern Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperatures flip back to cooler-than-normal values – perhaps 5 or 10 years from now - the northern hemisphere sea ice areal extent should return to the normal or above normal levels seen prior to the mid 1990’s.Video"
============================
Der Spiegel: Global Warming Now Causes Sea Level Drop…Through Weather Shifts!
It wasn’t long ago a PNAS study led by Stefan Rahmstorf had come
out claiming sea level rise is “accelerating”. This of course was
followed by the mainstream media jumping on the global warming bandwagon
and trumpeting doom and gloom would strike sooner than we ever thought,
maybe even before we die.
Unfortunately, the acceleration has been in the opposite direction, thus making the authors of the PNAS study look just a bit foolish.
The latest NASA satellite data show that sea levels have dropped 6 mm over the last year – the biggest drop ever recorded since satellite data has been taken. This is hardly the kind of acceleration Rahmstorf had in mind. You’d think the media would be falling all over themselves to report this good news. They have not. Only a tiny few German media outlets have reported the plummeting sea level news.
- See
more at:
http://notrickszone.com/2011/08/31/der-spiegel-global-warming-now-causes-sea-level-drop-through-weather-shifts/#sthash.goi7Bcjd.dpufUnfortunately, the acceleration has been in the opposite direction, thus making the authors of the PNAS study look just a bit foolish.
The latest NASA satellite data show that sea levels have dropped 6 mm over the last year – the biggest drop ever recorded since satellite data has been taken. This is hardly the kind of acceleration Rahmstorf had in mind. You’d think the media would be falling all over themselves to report this good news. They have not. Only a tiny few German media outlets have reported the plummeting sea level news.
8/31/2011, "Der Spiegel: Global Warming now causes sea level drop...through weather shifts," Pierre Goselin, NoTricksZone.com
Der
Spiegel: Global Warming Now Causes Sea Level Drop…Through Weather
Shifts! - See more at:
http://notrickszone.com/2011/08/31/der-spiegel-global-warming-now-causes-sea-level-drop-through-weather-shifts/#sthash.goi7Bcjd.dpuf
=============================
9/10/12, "ICESAT Data Shows Mass Gains of the Antarctic Ice Sheet Exceed Losses," WUWT, Anthony Watts
============================
NASA press release
6/13/2013, "Warm Ocean Causing Most Antarctic Ice Shelf Mass Loss," NASA.gov
============================
12/10/13, "Fire And Ice — Volcanoes, Not CO2, Melt West Antarctic," IBD Editorial
.
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