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Subscribe to RSSSome glaciers in the Himalayas mountain range have gained a small amount of mass between 1999 and 2008, new research shows, bucking the global trend of glacial decline.
The study published on Sunday in the Nature Geoscience journal also said the Karakoram mountain range in the Himalayas has contributed less to sea level rise than previously thought.
With global average temperature rising, glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets melt and shed water, which contributes to the increase of sea levels, threatening the populations of low-lying nations and islands.
The research at France's University of Grenoble estimates that the Karakoram glaciers have gained around 0.36 feet to 0.72 feet per year between 1999 and 2008.
"Our conclusion that Karakoram glaciers had a small mass gain at the beginning of the 21st century indicates that those central/eastern glaciers are not representative of the whole (Himalayas)," the experts at the university said.
The study appears to confirm earlier research that had suggested the Karakoram glaciers have not followed the global trend of glacial decline over the past three decades. The mountain range's remoteness had made it hard to confirm its behaviour.
The Karakoram mountain range spans the borders between India, China and Pakistan and is covered by 7,700 square miles of glaciers. It is home to the second highest mountain in the world, K2.
"We suggest that the sea-level-rise contribution for this region during the first decade of the 21st century should be revised from +0.04 mm per year to -0.006 mm per year sea-level equivalent," the study said.
The Himalayas hold the planet's largest body of ice outside the polar caps and feed many of the world's great rivers, including the Ganges and Brahmaputra, on which hundreds of millions of people depend.
The world's glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets have shed around 1,000 cubic miles from 2003 to 2010, experts suggest, which is enough to raise sea levels by 12mm over that period.
Stephan Harrison, associate professor in quaternary science at the UK's University of Exeter, said the new research had showed there is "considerable variability" in the global climate and in how glaciers respond to it.
The Karakoram glaciers are also unusual because they are covered with thick layers of rock debris, which means their patterns of melting and mass gain are driven by changes in that debris as well as in the climate.
Much of their mass gain also comes from avalanches from the high mountains surrounding them, Harrison said.
"Overall, the impact of melting glaciers such as these on sea level rise is known to be negligible, but it does mean that there is much more to be learnt about exactly how the world's glaciers will respond to continued global warming," he added.
A separate study in February found that Himalayan glaciers and ice caps as a whole were losing mass less quickly than once feared, offering some respite to a region already feeling the effects of global warming.
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Darn, there goes global warming....oops, I mean climate change.
I guess you missed the part about 1,000 cubic miles of ice melting this decade.
Al Gore is proably having Nightmares over this story. CALL A CODE AND GET A CART, Al's gonna need it!
I guessed I missed the rise of sea level on my beach property.
Why don't we start being 'balanced' about 'global warming', instead of the constant 'doom and gloom' stories.
Global warming is nothing new - it has happened many times in the past - long before the 'industrial revolution'.
In every previous occasion, it has brought far more benefits to animal life than problems, and in fact, previous global warming has led to great advancments in the arts and sciences as well as increased food supplies, economic growth and prosperity.
Interesting; even though they prove the glaciers are NOT melting but growing, the "scientists" STILL predict a rise in the ocean from the melting glacier... that's contradictory.. but I guess when you are pushing for a theory you cant give up any ground on no matter what the facts actually state... Makes me believe that the figures they earlier stated as fact as a rise in the oceans now turns out be just an educated guess... Now I'm beginning to believe that these facts for elsewhere around the world must also be educated "guesses" as well.
Actually, if the atmosphere were warming, there'd be more moisture taken up by the monsoons that feed the snows in that region. More snows above the frostline=more glacier.
I see it the way Paul does, unfortunate it is such a divisive topic. It seems we will all be along for the ride for better or worse.
Who would have thunk it. Those pesky little facts...oops.
someone better tell al gore to get his blowtorch out and go melt them nar glaciers.
You mean Rush Limbaugh was correct when he said they were actually growing -(about a year ago)?? Go figure!!
Please don't tell me this whole thing is a fraud. I am driving a battery car, quit grilling out, stopped watering my lawn, changed my light bulbs, quit eating beef and it is all a fraud???????????
that's 2 glaciers growing because ice is falling ont them from higher mountains and it's still cold up at 20,000 feet, 998 shrinking due to global warming.
Redneck, Rush wasn't talking about the glaciers growing. He was talking about his tits !
Love the deniers. When one cold day comes they say no global warming, no global warming. and now, one glacier that still exists somewhere is growing and the no global warming cry comes again.
We could use some global warming in Portland. It was freezing rain, in mid april, flowers are dying from frost. I wonder why chicken little is not making a new movie. an Inconvient Truth it was all a Scam.
Warmest March in History. The Arctic opening to sea traffic. The lack of scientific knowledge of the naysayers about climate change probably matches their belief in Creationism and denial of fossils, evolution and a billion galaxies.
Bering sea ice 20-30% higher than average and Arctic sea ice recovering each year since 2007. While North America had a mild winter the rest of the Northern Hemisphere had a brutal winter with over 600 people dying from the cold in Europe and Russia. Alaska cities set new records for snow amounts.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/04/07/anchorage-breaks-seasonal-snow-record-last-set-in-1955/
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/03/26/sea-ice-news-volume-3-number-3/
What's funny is all the alarmists trying to pin tornadoes and spring heat waves on global warming but no evidence of it.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/04/16/usas-record-warm-march-not-caused-by-global-warming/
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/04/07/anchorage-breaks-seasonal-snow-record-last-set-in-1955/
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/03/31/2011-us-tornado-year-analyzed-no-trend-indication-still-below-1974/
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/04/04/nws-dallas-on-yesterdays-tornado-outbreak-just-another-statistic-no-mention-of-global-warming/
What have we been telling ally gore and others that the studies are flawed! The change in weather, etc is from military tests being performed by haarp, military(they test on us to see if can cause famine, destruction(tornados in places never heard before), also use ultra low frequencies to measure how much crime increases in certain areas. Tell miltary to stop chinese/n koreans hacking attacks, shoot missles when launched with our lasers/antimissles, microwave areas growing drugs(yes we have technology. We could control world from home if we would only get bleeding hearts in office out of the way-let our military do its job no matter how brutal! Do the EMP attacks and kill all electrical, computers, etc the way we keep telling the world that this is the way YOU can destroy america-blow an electric magnetic pulse bomb up to 200 miles above our atmosphere!!!(Hint) Lets do to them first(especially the nuclear crazy countries=end of bombs!
actually the glaciers are growing because ally gore has all those Carbon tickets(in case you are not familier)-these tickets companies buy in order to reduce emission. NOw if you go over the limit then you pull out a ticket and can pollute more! What ally does is he goes to places like Brazil, etc and buys land and place them in a "trust" now they are off LIMITS to the very people that LIVED off the land and has for generations. Suddenly providing for your family becomes a UN Criminal offense and they are sent to prison! This is true! READ FOR YOURSELVES! They have said for years the green house global warming theories are flawed!! In fact some sciencetist say that there is like a cycle and we are in the warm cycle-we could even return to a ice age. Anyone remember just the winter Anchorage, AK had in excess of 18 feet of snow(well beyond the norm!?). Study the history of the Alaskan glaciers some have retreated over 2+ miles since white man discovered in 1800s-notice this is BEFORE we had car pollution, etc(what caused it-it was the white mans bad breath, and Body odor(indians use to smell them hours before contact! This is true!
PLEASE... SAY IT AINT SO ! ! !
I just sold my Miami Beach Condo, a 3 bedroom 2 bath Penthouse Oceanview for $45,000. As Al Gore said Im gunna be under water.
So...Like.... does anyone know a good Lawyer that aint a Democrat?
democrats dont have very good lawyers, they lost on the vote recount in florida and now they are lose again before the USC
MAN MADE GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL ! ! !
Please dont let the FACTS get in the way of Al Gore logic.
the inventor of the Internet? never! we know AL GORE ATTEMPTED TO STEEL ANOTHER MAN'S idea; shame on him.
remember earth history when theres warming trend follows by huge cold trend aka mini or big ice age and plus we havent been keeping records of earth history cause we havent been around that long enough plus record keeping havent started that far back so how do we know this is just earth cycle
Kraz...: You say we haven't been keeping records because we haven't been around long enough, but the earth itself has been keeping records. For example, air bubbles trapped in Antarctic Ice tell us what the composition of the air has been for millions of years - and the last 420,000 years have been analyzed in detail. We have records of tree rings from current trees that a 2000 years old and also from fossilized trees that lived before that. We have sedimentation layers at the bottoms of seas and lakes that from which we extract temperature data for millenia.
You don't know about such things whereas we scientists do. That's why your claim of a "cycle", where virtually every serious scientist has ruled that out, is as foolish as if the average person walked into an operating room and claimed he knew better than the surgeon how to do the operation.
The fact is, for the past 420,000 years there have been cycles and the highest CO2 levels were 294 ppm. They are 394 now. How's that fit into your "cycle"?
As a geoscientist I must say you are a twit. 420000 year is like a 15minutes out of an hour when it is based on the geologic cycyle. the earth has gone thru multiple cycyles that have awrmed and cooled the earth since the end of glaciation approximately 1.75 MYA. Learn about geologic history before you spout off your ignorance
Gosh, people who hear ONE tibet of a "plus" in glacier ice and they become climate experts. The overwhelming evidence is climate change (for the worse). Record temperatures over spring, change in jet stream activity and other indicators suggest something is happening. Simply look at pictures of mountain range peaks and loss of snow, increased sea levels, and violent seasonal changes and you know change is happening.
You can't convince those who refuse to look at the evidence.
You wouldn't know evidence if it came up and slapped you in the butt. Are you a climate expert. Sure seems to be lot of them on these forums.
See if you can dig up a little evidence on jet stream fluctuations and the haarp project in alaska along with the other similar installations around the world. I don't think slicing holes in the ionosphere with focused energy in the form of radio waves is a great thing to be doing.
Who cares, as long as the beer is cold.
Using my finely tuned sleuthing skills I have developed a theory. When those crazy scientists went out on one of their wild glacier measuring parties they accidentally spilled a few drinks during a raucous cocktail party where everyone's drink was on the rocks. The next morning when they began checking their measurements and taking new ones they discovered that some 'new' ice had appeared, bada-bing-bada-boom, the glaciers are growing!!!
I'm currently living under 20 feet of water ...thanks to al gore's jet wrecking the environment .
Summit of the Americas; what a joke; next time let me represent the States I've unite both North and South America against the world!
We would have to fear anyone; we will be too large of a power.
About half the glaciers in Alaska are growing, about half receding. Friends just returning from Patagonia say the glaciers are growing there. Now the Karakoram data have come to light. Looks like the University of East Anglia emails are more troubling now than when I first read them.
They need additional information. Contributing factors could include the glaciers are being raised into higher elevations. A question that I have: Does the runoff show a decrease in flow?
Our country have so many problems right now, it not unly CUBA, NICARAGUA, VEENEZUELA, BOLIVIA, ECUADOR. I AGREE, WITH WHAT MR. JOHN WILLIAMS "NAM VET", SAID: "WHEN THE CUBAN PEOPLE, GET THEIR RIGHTS...THEN THE GOV...OF CUBA CAN HAVE RIGHTS, TO BE PART OF THE SUMMET OF THE AMERICAS "!!!!!!!!!!!!! T
Gee, the alarmists are at it again. The very mention of global warming stirs the proverbial honet's nest. I like the label "denier". I'm a denier. But, I don't deny the Earth is in a warming trend. There have been global temperature variations on this planet throughout its existence. However, to blame it on CO2 is nothing more than another political ploy to ruin the U.S. economy so the "insiders", using the U.N., can further their agenda for one world government. If they need to attack something causing global warming, why aren't they attacking water vapor? After all, 95 percent or more of heat reflected back to planet's surface is caused by water vapor. The claim about the oceans rising and inundating low lying areas is ludicrous. That's just another part of the panic lie along with all the supposed adverse affects on wildlife. Global warming will most likely turn to global cooling at some time in the future and "they" will have to come up with another big lie to panic the world.
Why is it so important to some that the earth is warming. I mean, come on, really, is it worth all the fussing over? What happens, happens! There is nothing you or I can do! We would like to think just because we recycle that we are going to save the planet. I'm sorry guys, but it doesn't matter what we do! So, my question is WHY? Why does it divide people like this. Sound like a bunch of 2 year old arguing over spilled milk!!!!!!
The news medias, all of them, thrive on controversy and division. They foster it to keep people arguing. If Limbaugh and Shultz didn't exist, the media would invent them to stir up stories.
Why ? Because it's all about the trillions in taxes they'd like to rake us all over the coals with ..
Change in the albedo "reflects" a change in heat flow, how is this surprising?
It isn't of course, but that doesn't stop agenda driven commentary from Big Oil shills, or just cheap shots from a posture of proud ignorance. "Wish Physics" won't save you, try actually thinking and reading accurately for a change.
Ah what fools these mortals be!
Exactly reterry.
What I find astonishing is these folks that don't believe the vast majority of peer reviewed journals regarding the subject, therefore don't believe in the scientific method, inflect their opinion onto the scientists study when a study shows that a few select glaciers are growing.
This article also shows, that scientists take all observations into consideration in respect to climate change. This should show a reasonable, logical, person that there is no conspiracy by the scientists to prove that the climate is changing.
What fields of science do you believe?
Peace.
BC
That's because the researchers are all govt funded lackeys that will say whatever the govt tells them to say .Bottom line is we think the govt is full of @!$%# 99.9 % of the time .Everyone knows climate always fluctuates . Controlling it is another issue .
Is the same true of oncologists? What about melodoigyne incognita research? Let alone space exploration, deep sea exploration, antacids for that matter, it all has been researched.
Some, of course, is funded via the government, much of it is not.
What is your theory in this conspiracy that you believe is happening regarding climate change? Who, in your mind, are the conspirators and what do they gain by said conspiracy? I'm not trying to stir anything up, I honestly and intrigued by your comment.
Peace
BC
Al Gore is banking on mass brainwashing techniques via paranoid,uneducated minds.Real scientists are coming forth with the opinion that the changing weather patterns have more to do with pole shift than any human produced carbon footprint.By all means support these crooks who want you to pay more for every product you buy and still pollute.Take your carbon credits and eat them.