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Rob Bingham
The edge of the Ferrigno Ice Stream is seen from a plane. A valley below the stream as well as an offshore channel appear to be allowing relatively warmer sea water to eat away at the ice from below.
A newly discovered Antarctica valley buried by ice and as deep as the Grand Canyon could be contributing to rising sea levels, scientists reported Thursday.
The ancient topography is such that relatively warm sea water could be eating away at the ice edge -- and a question for future research is whether that process is happening elsewhere along Antarctica's coastal rift valleys.
A few other ice-covered valleys have been found but the geology of this one, discoverer Rob Bingham told NBC News, shows that "the areas that are most vulnerable (to ice loss) coincide with areas of ancient rifting."
It seems the geological process over millions of years "preconfigures the topography to a shape that encourages ice loss," said Bingham, a glaciologist at Scotland's University of Aberdeen.
Reported in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, the find came about when Bingham was part of a British Antarctic Survey team looking at the Ferrigno Ice Stream, an area on the vulnerable West Antarctic Ice Sheet, to see why it was losing ice.
"It was in doing this that we discovered the ice in this region is underlain by a rift" a mile deep in places, Bingham said. Radar showed that "ice losses are concentrated over the rift," he added, allowing researchers to conclude that "the rift topography exacerbates the current ice losses."
Ice from the rift also carved a channel over millions of years that is now covered by coastal seas and appears to be allowing relatively warmer water to "flow back towards the Antarctic ice margin" and then melt it, Bingham said.
The melt causes the ice surface slope to steepen "and this in turn accelerates ice flow such that the ice surface drops over time. The presence of the rift valley facilitates this flow and is thus contributing to gradual depletion of the central ice cover."
Others scientists said the discovery would help better understand the dynamics of Antarctica.
Rob Bingham
This illustration shows the Ferrigno Ice Stream, outlined in black and just above a channel, seen in green, that appears to allow relatively warmer water to eat away at the ice margin.
"There could be more rifts like this and the study gives us ideas to test in other places," Tom Wagner, who manages NASA's ice research programs, told NBC News. Such rifts, he added, "could potentially cause very rapid ice flow."
Related story: Sudden vast ice melt seen on Greenland
The British Antarctic Survey agreed on the significance.
"The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is of great scientific interest and societal importance as it is losing ice faster than any other part of Antarctica with some glaciers shrinking by more than one meter (three feet) per year," it said in a statement coinciding with the study.
"Thinning ice in West Antarctica is currently contributing nearly 10 percent of global sea level rise," added BAS scientist David Vaughan. "It's important to understand this hot spot of change so we can make more accurate predictions for future sea level rise."
Study co-author Fausto Ferraccioli, a BAS scientist, told NBC News that satellite and aircraft surveys over the rift would help better explain the dynamics.
"We now need new airborne geophysical surveys both onshore and offshore," he said, in order to understand all facets of "this changing part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet."
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Seriously, really, so are they trying to say, wait what are they tryng to say. So these rifts are the cause of the ice melting, why were they not affecting the ice during the periods when the ice was not melting faster. Is there someone over in news land who when given directions by the powers that be writes a story so stupid that the IQ of its readers can be gauged for whatever the reason. This story really should have gone in the entertainment section along with bruce jenner and the Kardasians
Yeah, if you don't understand it just insult people and that will cover it up. The rifts may well have been affecting the ice all along, but when the ice wasn't melting then it wouldn't really matter how much was exposed, would it? It didn't make more ice melt when the ice wasn't melting because..... well.... the ice wasn't melting.
It's Bush's fault!
but Obama will get blamed, unfortunately....because it's on his watch.
I honestly wonder if anyone checked their facts. If the canyon is below sea level, then any ice that melted would actually make the sea level go down. Why? Simply because when water freezes it expands. So melted ice (water) takes up less room than ice. If the ice is underwater, the ice is being replace by water. And since water takes up less room than ice, the canyon would actually allow ocean water into the "less full" space which would net a lower sea level. Global Warming is something to be concerned about, but using FEAR to convince people of unsubstantiated claims is simply wrong.
it would be interesting to see what they could find beneath the ice
Godzilla!
or Predator vs Alien
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Or the aliens from "The Abyss"
I was thinking of that creature from "The Thing" but you guys got me beat
everyone from the right moved to the left
Damn that geology. We need to stop rift vallys from forming in the first place, the UN should gather a room full of petty tyrants and maniacs and pass a treaty or something.
Then we should demand better control of the weather, all that "climate change" stuff needs to be regulated, perhaps a government agency? We need maybe 350,000 government empllyees to monitor weather and issue citations to people who live in places where the weather is bad.
Maybe if we punished those people for creating bad weather,,,,,,,,,,,they would stop.
I bet that is what the dinosaurs did to keep it so comfortable when they were alive.
Do you have a point? This is a simple observation that the existing topography might make the ice melt faster than we thought. It doesn't involve all of your favorite things mouth off about.
If we could only dig into those ancient Icelandic Sagas and find out how the Vikings stopped the global warming crisis they caused in the middle ages. I hear they turned it around and had Greenland ice-capped again by the 16th century.
typography is causing this? that's it. i'm not using the alphabet any more.
unless you meant tOpography, which is COMPLETELY different.
the funny thing is, it was right at the beginning of the article... sigh.
Darn that spell check. (I was thinking the exact same thing.) Oh well.
It will be interesting to see this lost canyon and what is found there, if anything.
So it seems that the rising oceans are the fault of rift(raff) :)
well, the rate perhaps
The climatologists will study the rising of the sea,
they will let us know if we will be,
safe from the coming waves,
or if we need to move to caves.
Wow, presto, change-o..... an instant Grand Canyon!
So its really a geological process causing ice loss? Who could-a thunk that?
Yep. And what causes rifts the size of the Grand Canyon? Oh yeah, erosion by water.
No, just increasing the rate. It is the warmer water that is still the driving force.
Actually, a rift is caused by the separation of two tectonic plates moving apart. Major examples include the Great Rift Valley in Africa and Death Valley in California. Erosion does create major valleys (Grand Canyon/Colorado River Valley; Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River Valley; Amazon River Valley) which sometimes coincide with rifts.
Isn't geology cool sometimes.
This type of thing is why so many "climate change deniers" have so much ammunition. When the global warming crowd used scare tactics to blame human beings for everything that could possibly be leading to increases in global temperatures, they over stepped and lost many people. Now the deniers can use this to say that the melting of the ice is a natural thing, that humans have nothing to do with it.
dirp - geology is really interesting. I can't quite understand with all of the ground penetrating sonar/radar/imaging or shifting of plates that surely would have been sensed this wasn't discovered before now.
I also can't help but wonder.... with all of the magnetism through the poles and the magnetic solar flares from the sun in the last few years, if this has some correlation?
The Trans-Antarctic Mountain range on the west coast of the continent has been proven to be among the highest mountain range on the planet. Perhaps even higher than the Himalayas if you were able to view them without the snow and ice, which show only the tips of the proverbial icebergs. I have flown over and through these mountains as well as climbed them. They were the most incredible sights I have ever seen. It is difficult to describe and one has to see it first hand to really and totally appreciate the awe and majesty of it!
Ed-NavDoc - Good morning and yes, those trans Antarctic mountians are really something. I wonder what scientists attribute Lake Vanda to? See you down the vines. Mike Operation Deep Freeze - Winter-Over 70.
And a good day to you too. Sadly, I never made it to Lake Vanda. One of my greatest regrets. I hear it is pretty impressive. I also hear they found a 50,000 year old perfectly mummified seal carcass there. That had to be something. Always a pleasure exchanging stories with a fellow OAE. See you down the vines as well my friend. NSFA Summer Support 1987 - 1991.
I think clean burning coal is the answer maybe we can fill these rifts with it and the ice will stop melting
http://notrickszone.com/2012/07/26/extremely-unusual-cold-deviation-of-20k-now-occurring-over-antarctica/
So it is 20 degrees colder than normal in Antarctica but the warm water is supposedly melting the ice. What warm water? Check here for global temps. Very little of the globe is warmer than usual. The rest of the globe is cooler than normal.
https://twitter.com/BigJoeBastardi/status/227082807418171393/photo/1/large
You are talking about at the moment, I assume. Sorry, that's not the way it works.
At STP, if it's water, then very high probability it's warmer than ice. So it would melt it.
Where the ice is melting is NOT exposed to the air, so air temperature, even if -200 degrees, wouldn't have an effect on it.
Please learn to read and COMPREHEND what is being said.
If you don't like the rising sea level, move to higher ground. It is a proven fact that sea lever once was 400 feet lower than it currently is, and it can be that much higher if the ice all melts. There's nothing anyone can do about the climate except ride along and adapt. Scientists probing under a glacier in Greenland 4 years ago have found evidence of a settlement half a mile inland under the ice "where no one could possibly have lived", indicating less ice and higher sea levels at a period some 14,000 years ago. There is no telling what will be discovered under Antarctica -- maybe Atlantis or an alien spaceport...or Jimmy Hoffa. Sell your ocean front lot now while there's still a market.
I just bought some ocean front property. It's 175 miles inland. Just waiting on the ocean to get there.
Moving everyone and everything inland would cost trillions of dollars. We may have to do some of that anyway, but we could do less if we reduced the amount that we are adding to the problem.
Hs321, must be in Arizona just like George Strait says! I figure before too long, Yuma will the beachfront condos currently found in Malibu.
Hell, just ask an idiot republican politician, what should be done. Maybe someone can possably get a straight answer out of Romney about global warming. But I doubt it. He hasn't given a straight answer about anything probably in his lifetime. While we're asking him, how about your taxes returns, where are they? Also how many $$$$'s are you hiding in offshore banks???
AAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! Can't you hopelessly politically polarized people leave politics out of anything?
Yes, I am not exactly on Romney's side, but it is extremely annoying to bring partisan attacks into a science discussion.
Well, at least if they are polarized, they are on the correct vine. After all, this story is about Antarctica.
Badum! Taa!
Scientific Conclusion: We now need new airborne geophysical surveys both onshore and offshore.
Translation: Our study yielded results that need more studies.
Further Translation: We need more money.
Ha ha matty, you mind reader you. All the rest is fluff! They are simply saying, "I hate working for a living. Give me more money so I don't have to. Oh by the way, boo!, the planet is melting."
Yep, you and, Matty, have it all figured out. Go through 10 yrs of school. Rack up $100+ thousand dollars of school debt. Get a job making $60-$160/yr JUST to be part of a world-wide conspiracy that our planet is warming and glaciers everywhere are melting. Riiiight. Morons.
As the climate changes, the folks in Europe MUST agree, it seems unusually WARMER, each year a few degrees higher. N.O.W. we can see why the seas are rising and it is understandable why.
The focus on sea level rise is a dangerous distraction. It provides dramatic images that can get the attention of people who are uninterested in the natural world, but the greater threat to our future is in the effects of climate change on agriculture. If you want to get a preview of the problems that we’ll face, just take a look at the drought going on in the middle of our country right now and watch what happens to supplies and prices of food.
I have been saying for a long time that they weren't even close to factoring in all of the acceleration factors when it comes to runaway global warming. And they still aren't even close now. Before the middle of this century arrives this world is going to be in a very dire state. It is so horrifically tragic that it is completely beyond words. - RC
once all the ice is gone i hope the US claims its before the brit's
nothing is beyond here ..let it ride baby,
i just know america will lie tho its dikes ..too bad fema belongs to haiti and iraq
my bad red cross
‘Anonymous’ hackers target Exxon, Shell and others for melting polar ice caps
‘Anonymous’ hackers target Exxon, …
Anonymous hackers have released more than 1,000 email credentials from five multinational oil companies that the group accuses of being responsible for the melting polar ice caps. The companies targeted include Shell, Exxon, BP, and Russian firms Gazprom and Rosneft, TheNextWeb reported. While most of the information is encrypted, the hackers have posted it online with the hope that like-minded individuals will help crack the security and obtain the passwords for the corresponding email addresses. The information was reportedly obtained through shell domains and other sub-domains, and was made available due to poor website management.
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We just found out last week through ANONYMOUS hackers who let up a 1000 pages of e-mails between Shell, Exxon, BBP, and other internationlist Oil pimps that these companies have been MELTING the ICEBERGS in Alaska. Bridge to Nowhere had a plan all along and the Alaskin Senator got paid well by BBP perks. We have heard no more on this. The Hackers seem to have been shut up or the Media. The ARTIC is the THERMASTAT for the Planet. Anybody get what this means? Got out my atlas and looked at GREENLAND in the ARTIC. With the melting on both sides of the ARTIC, --lines of supply are opened up for oil trade as well as drilling opportunities. HOW do we know that GREENLAND of the ARTIC is not also being melted by the Cartels? Why are we not hearing more on the 1000 e-mails. How, EXACTLY, are these being melted. This AFFECTS all the weather and future conditions on the PLANET. I remember that commercial for butter: Don't Try To Fool MOTHER NATURE. How many other places under the water and in the sky are weather and storms being manipulated? Damnit all to Washington the U. S. A. ans deserve to know this, right away if not sooner. You can log into ANONYMOUS.
roses are red, violets are blue, ice is very cold...my ex was too;-)
recipe for an ice free Earth = burn coal, burn oil
Amen. It's much more likely that volcanic activity, movement of magma along the Pacific Rim, and now in Antarctica is responsible for "global warming" than the tiny amount of extra CO and CO2 produced by Al Gore smoking cigars.
So, you're saying magma in and around the 'Ring of Fire' is responsible for climate change!!??? Good grief!!! Now, I've heard them all!! Bwaaa haa haa haaa!! Where, exactly, did you get your geology degree again?? I just want to know so I can tell others where NOT to go!
People are champin' at the bit to go after Antarctica's vast natural resources of Gold and Oil. Everybody is pretending to honor the Antarctic Treaty from 1958 and accept that the continent is solely for scientific research, but in the shadows they are getting ready for the carnage of extracting what ever can be taken. Stay tuned folks, it's coming.
To save the earth we all must die.
The Earth doesn't need saving. She was here before us, and will continue on without us, and probably won't even notice we're gone.
We're the ones that need saving, and no magic fairy is going to rescue us; we have to take care of ourselves.
This earth have got warmer before the automobile or factories. Ice glaciers in many of our States that are no longer before Columbus arrived. We are fortunate for living before this earth is destroyed. This earth will be here a long time until that day. I'm more worried of these little boys called leaders in different countries with Nuclear Weapons and who knows what later on. Technology is growing so fast.