Thanks Melanie, that's a triffic read. One little thing I'd like to chip in with: people tend to talk about 'average sea level rise', as if we were filling a bath. This can be a bit misleading. After all, the 'average' human being has one bosom and one testicle.
In addition to Greenland, if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapses "the seas would rise the highest near Washington, D.C., and Northern California". The fact is we don't know exactly what will happen, except that it will not be a steady, even rise. Talking in averages makes it all sound vaguely manageable, and masks the fact there's catastrophes afoot.
Thank you, that's a very good point. It makes me think that I want to take a closer look at sea level rise - there's a lot of complexity in that issue that deserves a closer look.
Awesome -- that's something that hasn't received nearly enough attention! If you want a glimpse of how complex water levels can be, check out tide timetables around NZ. It can be a medium tide in one place while its low tide somewhere nearby and high tide a bit further down the coast (okay, slight exaggeration). At first glance it just makes no sense at all. It all gets bizzarely complicated by water temperatures, salinity, underwater topology & water depth etc, leading to different gravity affects blah blah. I might be able to put you in touch with an expert on this if you like? I'd really like to know more about it as well.
This was really interesting info - I just knew the basics about Antarctica: the ice is melting, huge shelves are breaking off. But I didn't know specifics - that Antarctica has two halves (it's really easy to see in your illustration), the definition of an ice shelf, or that the largest glaciers are on that eastern side. I've had two friends recently vacation in the horn of West Antarctica - I don't know if that's a sign of the times or just a sign of the people I happen to know. It's interesting to know that what they saw and sent back photos of is not at all indicative of the whole of the continent. Really nice read - thank you!
Thanks Heather. I was fascinated with what I found too, there was so much more to it than I realised. In terms of tourism, virtually all Antarctic tourism takes place on the Antarctic Peninsula, because it is the easiest area to access. Less of the wild and stormy Southern Ocean to cross (that's always put me off as I get seasick).
Thanks Melanie, that's a triffic read. One little thing I'd like to chip in with: people tend to talk about 'average sea level rise', as if we were filling a bath. This can be a bit misleading. After all, the 'average' human being has one bosom and one testicle.
NASA makes the point: "The areas farthest from the melted ice will see the most sea level rise... Conversely, areas nearest to Greenland and Antarctica will see the least amount of sea level rise (and some areas will actually see sea levels drop)." https://sealevel.nasa.gov/faq/9/are-sea-levels-rising-the-same-all-over-the-world-as-if-were-filling-a-giant-bathtub/#:~:text=Sea%20level%20rise%20is%20uneven,%2C%20heating%2C%20evaporation%20and%20precipitation.
So Norway and Scotland may see the sea level falling significantly. But for people in Chile and New Zealand, there's likely to be a dramatic rise. https://www.science.org/content/article/how-melting-ice-sheet-could-actually-lower-sea-level-some-places.
In addition to Greenland, if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapses "the seas would rise the highest near Washington, D.C., and Northern California". The fact is we don't know exactly what will happen, except that it will not be a steady, even rise. Talking in averages makes it all sound vaguely manageable, and masks the fact there's catastrophes afoot.
Thank you, that's a very good point. It makes me think that I want to take a closer look at sea level rise - there's a lot of complexity in that issue that deserves a closer look.
Awesome -- that's something that hasn't received nearly enough attention! If you want a glimpse of how complex water levels can be, check out tide timetables around NZ. It can be a medium tide in one place while its low tide somewhere nearby and high tide a bit further down the coast (okay, slight exaggeration). At first glance it just makes no sense at all. It all gets bizzarely complicated by water temperatures, salinity, underwater topology & water depth etc, leading to different gravity affects blah blah. I might be able to put you in touch with an expert on this if you like? I'd really like to know more about it as well.
I'm going to enjoy getting my head around that, it sounds really complicated. If you do know someone, it would be fantastic.
All good. Can you email me: pwhalljones@gmail.com? I'll send you contact details.
This was really interesting info - I just knew the basics about Antarctica: the ice is melting, huge shelves are breaking off. But I didn't know specifics - that Antarctica has two halves (it's really easy to see in your illustration), the definition of an ice shelf, or that the largest glaciers are on that eastern side. I've had two friends recently vacation in the horn of West Antarctica - I don't know if that's a sign of the times or just a sign of the people I happen to know. It's interesting to know that what they saw and sent back photos of is not at all indicative of the whole of the continent. Really nice read - thank you!
Thanks Heather. I was fascinated with what I found too, there was so much more to it than I realised. In terms of tourism, virtually all Antarctic tourism takes place on the Antarctic Peninsula, because it is the easiest area to access. Less of the wild and stormy Southern Ocean to cross (that's always put me off as I get seasick).