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* Melting glaciers race for Antarctic shores

Steven Moore

Don't Panic 

A bit misleading, this article.

These aren't "the glaciers in Antarctica" so much as they are TIDEWATER glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula -- an area which extends outside the Antarctic Circle, and is not representative of the continent as a whole. The peninsula has been warming, unlike the rest of the continent, for example.

In an earlier paper ("Cryospheric impacts of climate change on the Antarctic Peninsula"), D. G. Vaughn of the BAS writes, "An estimate of the net imbalance of the northern Antarctic Peninsula ice sheet, suggests that it is now contributing around 0.16 ± 0.06 mm to global sea-level". This is a sizable fraction of the total contribution assigned to Antarctica by the IPCC (0.21 mm).

The WAIS and EAIS, where most all the ice is, are comparatively stable.

It's too early to panic, folks.

Bemi Faison

Do Plan 

So do nothing, until we panic? Why wait for a doomsday scenario when you can plan to avoid one?

I'm no scientist, but even a scientist will tell you that their tests only provide predictions. When it comes to the planet we live on, I'd prefer to be hyper-concerned, if not panicked. I'd rather act than react.

Anonymous Coward

Short term studies 

Yet again, "previously unstudied" bit of data spread over an incredibly short period of time, leading to wild conclusions.

So it's sped up over a 10 year period. What about the 10 before 1993, or the 100, 1000, 100,000?

Andy Bright

Re: Don't Panic 

Mr Mannering?

Wade Burchette

Actually, the antarctic ice sheet is INCREASING 

http://64.119.172.31/awpf.pdf

"Liu, et al (2004) report that total Antarctic sea ice (the area covered by at least 15% ice concentration) has increased significantly since 1979, by about 13,295 sq. km. per year. Regionally, there has been a large increase in the central Pacific sector and a smaller decrease in the Weddell Sea. Although ENSO and the Antarctic Oscillation appear to influence sea ice trends, they cannot explain them. There may be “less understood largescale processes at work” influencing sea ice."

The sea ice is melting is some areas, but increasing in most areas. It the small areas that are melting that Al Gore and other alarmists focus on, conveniently ignoring the whole antarctic.

Anonymous Coward

RE: Mr Mannering? 

That's CAPTAIN Mainwaring, if you please!

Anonymous Coward

Antartica Increasing 

No its not. It has in the recent past, its not today.

Markus Wallett

the writing's on the wall 

Put your heads collectively in the ice long enough and a bevy of seals might surprise you all by biting you on your rumps. Wake up...stop dreaming, to quote Wang Chung. ;)

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