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Update Date: 2008/09/01 14:35 Guo Wuhuan
(AFP, Paris, 31st)
Scientists today indicated that they can no longer rule out the possibility of the Greenland ice sheet melting rapidly. Once this frozen world's fate is set in motion, it will submerge most coastlines around the globe under rising sea levels.
Researchers have discovered that the Laurentide ice sheet, which covered North America during the last ice age, melted much faster than previously understood, releasing billions of tons of freshwater into the oceans.
This finding heightens concerns about the future stability of the Greenland ice sheet, as accelerated warming could cause the Laurentide ice sheet to begin melting again before the end of this century.
Richard Alley, a climate researcher at Columbia University in New York, stated: "The adjective 'glacial,' derived from 'glacier,' once meant something cold and slow."
"New evidence from the past, combined with our models predicting future climate, shows that 'glacial' no longer implies slowness; past ice sheets responded rapidly to climate changes, suggesting that similar responses may occur in the future."
The researchers' findings were published online in the journal "Geoscience"; the report focuses on key factors influencing the balance of climate change.
While scientists are confident that Antarctica has so far escaped the worst impacts of global warming, they are highly uncertain about the fate of Greenland, where the ice sheet holds enough freshwater to raise sea levels by seven meters.
According to scientists' drilling results, the Laurentide ice sheet reached its peak 20,000 years ago, with a thickness of three kilometers and extending as far south as present-day New York and Ohio.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 080901/ 19/ 155mk. html
Study: Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Could Significantly Raise Sea Levels
(AFP, Paris, 31st)
Scientists today indicated that they can no longer rule out the possibility of the Greenland ice sheet melting rapidly. Once this frozen world's fate is set in motion, it will submerge most coastlines around the globe under rising sea levels.
Researchers have discovered that the Laurentide ice sheet, which covered North America during the last ice age, melted much faster than previously understood, releasing billions of tons of freshwater into the oceans.
This finding heightens concerns about the future stability of the Greenland ice sheet, as accelerated warming could cause the Laurentide ice sheet to begin melting again before the end of this century.
Richard Alley, a climate researcher at Columbia University in New York, stated: "The adjective 'glacial,' derived from 'glacier,' once meant something cold and slow."
"New evidence from the past, combined with our models predicting future climate, shows that 'glacial' no longer implies slowness; past ice sheets responded rapidly to climate changes, suggesting that similar responses may occur in the future."
The researchers' findings were published online in the journal "Geoscience"; the report focuses on key factors influencing the balance of climate change.
While scientists are confident that Antarctica has so far escaped the worst impacts of global warming, they are highly uncertain about the fate of Greenland, where the ice sheet holds enough freshwater to raise sea levels by seven meters.
According to scientists' drilling results, the Laurentide ice sheet reached its peak 20,000 years ago, with a thickness of three kilometers and extending as far south as present-day New York and Ohio.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 080901/ 19/ 155mk. html