No Stopping it Now: Seas to Rise 4 Inches or More this Century

[cheeks69]

The sea-level prediction is based solely on thermal expansion -- the oceans physically swell as they get warmer. The projection does not take into account fresh water that other scientists expect to melt from glaciers and ice sheets, a process that appears already underway and which could snowball, some experts say.

Greenland's largest glacier, for example, doubled its forward progress toward the sea between 1997 and 2003. It is also thinning rapidly, adding water to the sea more quickly than realized, a study last year found.

Add the probable melting in, and seas could rise 8 inches through 2100 in the best-case scenario, Meehl and his colleagues say.

The rise could swamp some coastal villages, shrink islands, and make hurricanes and other extreme weather events more catastrophic.

The inevitable change, as Meehl's model has it, is due to two factors.

The ocean lags far behind the land and the air in temperature changes. This "thermal inertia," as scientists call it, means big changes in the oceans occur over decades and centuries, not years. A warming change seen in the atmosphere in recent decades cannot have fully played out yet in the water.
Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases do not break down into other chemicals rapidly, so what's up there will be there for a long time.

http://www.livescience.com/environme...l_warming.html

[Woodstock]

[Gina]

Makes you wonder what this earth will be like hundreds of years from now.

[cheeks69]

Originally Posted by Gina

Makes you wonder what this earth will be like hundreds of years from now.

Yes I agree Gina, unfortunately people think about the here and now and forget about future generations and what they'll have to deal with especially the damage to the environment.

[Cougra]

ok but how much did it rise this past 100 years or the previous 100 years, or when the ice age was ending? At one point the ocean had to have had a much higher salinity then it currently does when all the water was locked up the form of ice during the ice ages. I understand this is an important issue, and that we do need to change the way that we treat the environment, but we also need to go about it in different ways then all these the world is doomed fashion. People don't listen to those arguements, they don't see how they can make difference when big corporations get away with polluting more then we as individuals can ever create.

[cheeks69]

ok but how much did it rise this past 100 years or the previous 100 years, or when the ice age was ending?

I see what your saying but the problem I see is that more people are living in coastal areas then ever before so the danger of rising sea levels will have much greater impact then it did hundreds of years ago.

People don't listen to those arguements, they don't see how they can make difference when big corporations get away with polluting more then we as individuals can ever create.

If a doomsday scenario doesn't get your attention then I don't know what would. People just refuse to believe that that we are heading in that direction, unless they see direct effects or immediate impact they don't think about it, it's an out of sight out of mind attitude...will deal with it when we get there. As the article mentioned the effects will not be immediate it takes decades to centuries.

[Rougiem]

Good points Cheeks and Cougra.

IMO the real problem behind this is human nature. Very much so in today's day and age where greed and selfishness are the underlining factors in many people's thinking and really have all through history. We do not think about what is ahead only what is good for me. While this can be important the welfare of all individuals are important when it comes to the planet. If we damage the Earth (Which I point out, is the only one we have!), the ability to correct those problems will not be so simple. One will not just be able to "fix" the problems with a wrench. This is why this should be important to all of us!

Cheers!

[Rougiem]

Cheers!