NASA | Warm Ocean Currents Cause Majority of Ice Loss from Antarctica

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Published by NASAexplorer at 04/25/2012 17:30 Like

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Warm ocean currents attacking the underside of ice shelves are the dominant cause of recent ice loss from Antarctica. This animation shows the circulation of ocean currents around the western Antarctic ice shelves. The shelves are indicated by the rainbow color; red is thicker (greater than 550 meters), while blue is thinner (less than 200 meters).

Credit: NASA/Goddard CGI Lab

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Latest comments

ron shoval, at 05/10/2013 07:50, says:
our pollution is destroying the world. if you want to help change this go to TRUTHCONTESTxcom and read pages 53-56 of THE PRESENT
paulshhhh, at 12/04/2012 00:42, says:
Boy! There is a lot of fog in the US. Seems like its a little more tropical. The fog must be from the ground heating up from the sun evaporating some of the water in the soil. I wonder how the US will fare with global warming? Will we have more desert areas or more tropical? Maybe both. I wonder when we have to start to build biospheres and greenhouses for food?
paulshhhh, at 10/30/2012 23:36, says:
Terrorists are starting forest fires in Europe and other places around the world to speed up global warming.
paulshhhh, at 10/30/2012 23:22, says:
Maybe the volcano in Hawaii won't erupt. (???) terrorists
paulshhhh, at 10/18/2012 20:49, says:
Looks like yet another volcano is about to erupt in Hawaii. At least the eruptions are on the downslope. It's just to bad the eruptions can't cool the earth. :( Earth should be going into a cooling trend but due to the greenhouse effect the earth's temperature will only climb. You may get the false sense that the earth is repairing itself because there will be more rains, and you'd think the earth is becoming more tropical. Doesn't happen this fast, more rain from water evaporating from the oce
paulshhhh, at 09/29/2012 10:52, says:
What happened to the Arctic ice sheet!!! This means more water will evaporate from the ocean and cause more flooding. :( Not the end of the world. I'm glad that I'm at least on high ground above sea level.
paulshhhh, at 08/28/2012 21:41, says:
Not the end of the world, as long as the republicans don't get back in office. LOL As I've mentioned earlier global warming will cause more flooding and the extra water pressure on the tectonic plates will cause a few more earthquakes. I'm glad Obama has FEMA in place for Hurricane Isaac. During Hurricane Katrina, Bush and FEMA had their thumbs up their ass. Barbra Bush even said the evacuees were better off by Hurricane Katrina, who "were underprivileged anyway," etc..
paulshhhh, at 08/21/2012 21:20, says:
Take planet X out of the equation.
paulshhhh, at 08/21/2012 21:54, says:
Take planet X out of the equation.
paulshhhh, at 08/09/2012 04:57, says:
I don't believe we will have a poler shift, maybe minimal. The earth is getting warmer because of car use, fossil fuels, etcetera. Even with all the water from the oceans that will evaporate and cause rain and floods, you might think the planet will repair itself by more tropical areas putting oxygen into the atmosphere, but I believe our atmosphere won't be able to repair itself. I'm hoping that the devastation to the planet won't be so fast that we won't be able to adapt fast enough.
paulshhhh, at 08/08/2012 01:20, says:
Even of the earth was going through a warming trend the icecaps wouldn't be melting so fast. I don't believe the ozone can ever be repaired. So in the future we will have, biodomes, underground/underwater living, until the earth ends up like Mars. By then we will have the technology to leave the ravaged planet.
paulshhhh, at 08/08/2012 01:19, says:
We also have many years before the sun supernovas, so I don't believe sunspots etcetera have anything to do with global warming. Science class should have taught us a thing or two about global warming. Even with the future events that are obviously coming we will continue to evolve spiritually. :)
paulshhhh, at 08/08/2012 01:05, says:
It's the pressure of the extra water on the earth's crust that's causing more earth quakes and volcanic eruptions, but the core is cooling. Any underwater volcanic eruptions will cause warmer water. During the greenhouse effect you will have many rain storms that will cause mudslides, floods, and you will see the erosion of mountain ranges. Desert/Tropical areas. History - the planet should be going into an ice age or cooling trend. Defiantly global warming/greenhouse effect because of car use,
ovidiu13E, at 08/05/2012 20:51, says:
the TRUTH ...warm currents because the water is getting warmer....water is geting warmer because of heat that core of the Earth emanates. The core is disturb magnetically by another big magnet aka Pla-net-x...Global warming theory is a hoax. Wake up ...soon we will have the Polesshift
wolfxp, at 06/11/2012 05:29, says:
Not that I dispute what you say...but where did you get your information from?
wolfxp, at 06/07/2012 20:38, says:
There's no doubt climate is changing. I'm not convinced it's 100% human...neither am I convinced it's not 100% human. The science is clear...the world is getting warmer at an accelerated rate compared to the data that have been collected that shows changes like this take thousands, maybe hundreds of years, not 100 years. Maybe there is a mechanism we're missing though, in how fast the world warms and cools.
Xmeloooody, at 06/07/2012 18:08, says:
-_-??
MrSupahEwok, at 06/07/2012 12:45, says:
Dude, the world was warmer back in the Middle Ages than it is now. These things come and go. Up until around the Industrial Age we had been in a mini cooling period. Now we're getting hotter again. And seeing as how humans are the most adaptable creatures this world has ever seen... I'm not too worried. Also, the eruption of a handful of volcanoes throws up more chemicals into the atmosphere than we ever have. World seems to have survived that for a couple billion years now.
wolfxp, at 06/06/2012 20:16, says:
I don't think the issue is that they disbelieve this...but the fact that acceleration of warming is increasing. There's more CO2 and other chemicals in the air, which they believe is causing it...is it entirely man made, no? But there is an interesting correlation that this warming escalation has increased steadily over the last couple hundred years since industrialization. Coincidental? That's why people think global warming is our fault. They might be right, but they be wrong.
DubTurboDigital, at 05/30/2012 04:49, says:
as much i love warm ovean currents when i am on vacation, i wish they would stay away from antarctica!
Nepeta Leijon, at 05/24/2012 18:44, says:
I dont get it..
itsadeadmansparty, at 05/13/2012 22:24, says:
Nasa knows ocean currents are not the source of the problem, The ocean is warmed by the Sun! When our orbits get farther away from the sun we enter Ice Ages, and When we get closer we enter Warming periods like one that we are in now. It will take about 500,000 years to reach its median point. So global warming is not man made,its called Orbital Variance Theory, btw nasa knows this shit,but they make you fear natural events which have always occured and man always survived them.Nasa go to school
Onebig1871, at 05/13/2012 21:07, says:
Yes, Bush, Bush big Goverment bad, Reagan good. Al Gore told us, we wouldnt belived he said energy crisis we said "your one crazy white man".
ChrisCrossdresser, at 05/10/2012 03:40, says:
What NA$A & the U.S. Govt. don't want American SHEEPLE to know: UK's GARY McKINNON hacked U.S. GOVT. COMPUTERS, & DI$COVERED "U.S.S.S. LeMay" & "U.S.S.S. Hillenkoetter"!(United States SPACE SHIPS). YouTube or Google "GARY McKINNON" if you don't believe it. Why is govt. controlled lame-stream media IGNORING IT???
Dejan Dimitriev, at 05/02/2012 20:38, says:
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW