Ice cap disappearing 30 years ahead of schedule

[2hats]

Of course, besides the poles, other major glaciers are all in retreat too:

(from DOI:10.1038/ngeo2863).

e2a: Research (previous findings covering the Bhutan region at doi:10.5194/tc-10-2203-2016) using declassified spy satellite data also confirms the long term melting trend in Himalayan glaciers.

 

[bluescreen]

One of the most worrying aspect of the shrinking/melting of glaciers, which not only causes local landslides and flooding (jökulhlaup), is that it will affect the water supply for the hundreds of millions of people who depend on a steady supply of meltwater.
Tibet: Tibet's Glaciers at Their Warmest in 2,000 Years
Tibet: Giant, deadly ice slide baffles researchers
Cascades: ‘Disastrous’: Low snow, heat eat away at Northwest glaciers
Bolivia: Bolivian glaciers melt at alarming rate - Climate News Network

- just to name a few.

 

[ferrelhadley]

Weather buoy near North Pole hits melting point

No one will remember Corbyn, May or Farrage in 50 years. In a couple of thousand years people will remember we once had permanent ice at the poles.

 

[Pickman's model]

Weather buoy near North Pole hits melting point

No one will remember Corbyn, May or Farrage in 50 years. In a couple of thousand years people will remember we once had permanent ice at the poles.

No they won't

 

[2hats]

Meanwhile, rare snow seen in the (eastern Moroccan) Sahara last week both in Landsat 7 imagery and confirmed on the ground:

 

[ferrelhadley]

First part of Larsen C ready to break away. 1/4 the size of Wales (UK media standard measurements)

Huge Antarctic iceberg poised to break away - BBC News

The break up of Larsen B made world news in 2002, even a song by British Sea Power.

Larsen C is really important holding back much of the glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula. They do not have huge sea level rise potential but they could go relatively fast. Unlike the sea ice in the Arctic which is about 5m thick at most and floats around this is an ice shelf that is it is permanently fixed and about 350m thick.

 

[ferrelhadley]

 

[bi0boy]

Who needs ice anyway? Water harbours a much greater biodiversity and is just generally more useful. There will be more space for whales for starters.

 

[bluescreen]

"Wipneus", the Dutchman whose graph is shown here, has assembled a page with various global sea ice indices. GSI used to be a denier's favourite, based on some sort of arbitrary assumption that if loss in one hemisphere was gained in another, then all was well with the global climate - but no more. The GIOMAS graphic for global sea ice volume is even more alarming than those for extent (ie, how far sea covered with >15% ice stretches) and area.
Global Sea Ice - ArctischePinguin