Guest guest Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 ANYONE SEE THE MOVIE " THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW " >Tue, 03 Feb 2004 23:35:47 -0500 >climate-watch >The Havens <thehavens >Evidence of growing change . > > >CLIMATE COLLAPSE >Growing Evidence of Scary Change >By David Stipp >http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,582593,00.h >tml > >Scientists used to think that major climate changes, like the onset of >an ice age, took thousands of years to unfold. Now they know such >dramatic transitions can occur in less than a decade. The probable >trigger of abrupt climate changes, at least in the Northern >Hemisphere, is the shutdown of a huge ocean current in the Atlantic >Ocean. The current is driven by dense, salty water that flows north >from the tropics and sinks in the North Atlantic. If fresh water is >pumped into the northerly part of the current--which can occur as >global warming melts Arctic ice--its salinity drops, making it less >dense. This diminishing density can prevent the water from sinking in >the North Atlantic, stopping the current's flow. Much of Europe and >the U.S. could become colder and drier if that happened. > >Many details of this big picture remain hazy, including whether recent >global warming threatens to shut down the Atlantic current. But over >the past few years, scientists have detected disquieting trends: > >* In tandem with rising average temperatures across the globe, 3% to > 4% of the Arctic ice cap has melted per decade since about 1970. > >* Recently the Arctic's largest ice shelf broke up near Canada's >Ellesmere Island, releasing an ice-dammed freshwater lake into the >ocean. (Scientists believe that the similar melting of an Arctic >ice dam 8,200 years ago triggered an episode of abrupt climate >change.) > >* The North Atlantic's salinity has declined continuously for the >past 40 years--the most dramatic oceanic change ever measured. > >* The flow of cold, dense water through a North Atlantic channel near >Norway--part of the great ocean current that warms northern Europe >--has dropped by at least 20% since 1950, suggesting that the current >is weakening. > >Scientists still don't know whether a climate disaster is on the >way. But taken together, these changes appear strikingly similar to >ones that preceded abrupt climate shifts in the past. Many researchers >now believe the salient question about such change is not " Could it >happen? " but " When? " > > > From the Feb. 9, 2004 Issue ****** Kraig and Shirley Carroll ... in the woods of SE Kentucky http://www.thehavens.com/ thehavens 606-376-3363 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.859 / Virus Database: 585 - Release 2/14/05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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