Antarctica

By David Armstrong McKay, Stockholm University | – Continued greenhouse gas emissions risk triggering climate tipping points. These are self-sustaining shifts in the climate system that would lock-in devastating changes, like sea-level rise, even if all emissions ended. The first major assessment in 2008 identified nine parts of the climate system that are sensitive to […]

Antarctica

Our Atmospheric CO2 is now past the point that in the Deep Past has Meant the Melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheets

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – So as a historian, I am particularly interested in what the past tells us about the present. I’ve taught courses on climate change in history. But of course my kind of history doesn’t go back very far from the point of view of physical scientists. The academic discipline of “history” […]

Antarctica

What’s worse than a Slow-Moving Doomsday Glacier like Thwaites? A Raptor Glacier Sprinting for the Ocean!

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – As regular readers know, I’m fascinated by glaciers. Growing up in France, I had the opportunity at one point to learn to ski in the Swiss Alps. The US army does not consistently supply a jet set lifestyle to dependents of non-commissioned officers, to say the least, but sometimes you […]

Antarctica

The World’s biggest Ice Sheet is more vulnerable to Global Warming than Scientists previously Thought

The Conversation

By Chris Stokes, Durham University and Guy Paxman, Durham University | – The eastern two thirds of Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet so large that if it melted the sea would rise by 52 metres [~yards]. Most scientists had once thought this ice sheet was largely invulnerable to climate change, but not any […]

Antarctica

Arctic is warming nearly four Times faster than the rest of the World – New Research

The Conversation

By Jonathan Bamber, University of Bristol | – The Earth is approximately 1.1℃ warmer than it was at the start of the industrial revolution. That warming has not been uniform, with some regions warming at a far greater pace. One such region is the Arctic. A new study shows that the Arctic has warmed nearly […]

Antarctica

Warm Waters, Winds head for East Antarctica, threatening eventual Massive Sea Level Rise

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – I attended an academic conference once in Melbourne, Australia. I was strictly instructed to pronounce it mel-bun, and have complied. Australia is really far away from the Detroit area. I asked someone about the beaches to the south of the city, and what body of water they were on. Oh, […]

Antarctica

Ice world: Antarctica’s riskiest glacier is under assault from below and losing its grip

The Conversation

By Ted Scambos, University of Colorado Boulder | – Flying over Antarctica, it’s hard to see what all the fuss is about. Like a gigantic wedding cake, the frosting of snow on top of the world’s largest ice sheet looks smooth and unblemished, beautiful and perfectly white. Little swirls of snow dunes cover the surface. […]