Ice

     This section contains articles about ice, arranged in 7 major groups: Ice Dynamics, Antarctica, Greenland, Other Glaciers, Combined Regions, Sea Ice, and Snow.  The many articles on permafrost and seabed methane hydrates are found in the Carbon+ Emissions section.

     Month and year follow each article's name.  PDF files are so marked, after month and date, some with authors noted.  Within sections, more recent files appear above older files.

    Diagrams are generally immediately below the summary articles from which they were taken.

     Several of the articles below point to faster changes observed in glaciers and ice sheets than models allow for.  That is, ice models need to be improved to account better for the processes identified.  The upshot is that ice loss generally occurs faster that models project.  This implies that sea level, during this century, will rise faster than most projections.

Global Warming Is Melting Antarctic Ice from Below 0518

Undermined by Warm Water, West Antarctic Glacier Lost 1,607 Feet of Ice Thickness in under 10 Years 1016

Record Greenland Melting Caused by Surprising Feedback Loop 0616 - Growing Arctic sea ice LOSS warms ice more.

These Elephant Seals Taught Scientists Why Antarctica Is Melting So Fast 0616

     Our sensors on them measure sea warming to melt ice shelves and glaciers from below.

Better Models of Antarctic Ice Collapse Show Much Faster Sea Level Rise 0416

Bacteria Could Be Speeding Up the Darkening of Greenland's Ice 0316

James Hansen Warns of Much Worse than Expected Sea Level Rise 0316 - take 2 on study below

We Had All Better Hope These Scientists Are Wrong about Earth’s Future 0316 - take 1 on study below

Greenland’s Melting Is ‘Feeding on Itself’ 0316

Greenland Ice Sheet Melts up to 1/3 Faster under Cloudy Skies 0116

New Discovery Shows Greenland Could Be Making Sea-Level Rise Even Worse 0116

Greenland Melt Prompts NASA Fears of Coastal Flooding 0815

Scientists Can Finally Explain Why Huge Lakes atop Greenland Are Vanishing 0615

Ice Cores Show 200-Year N-S Poles Climate Lag 0515

Antarctic Ice Shelves Melting 70% Faster 0315

Models of Greenland Ice Melting Could Be Way Off.  Florida Beware! 1214

Chain Reaction Shattered Huge Antarctic Ice Shelf 0813

Like Butter - Study Explains Surprising Acceleration of Greenland’s Inland Ice 0713

New Iceberg Theory Points to Risk of Rapid Disintegration, Fast Sea Level Rise 0713

Jury Still Out on Cause of Melting Ice Sheets 0713

Antarctic Ice Shelves Melting Mostly from Below 0613

Ice Sheets Can Change Fast 0912

Greenland Ice Melts in Spurts 0812

Warm Ocean Drives Antarctic Ice Loss 0412

Ocean Warming Is Melting Polar Sheets Even Faster 0711

Soot Outdoes CO2 in Melting Himalayan Ice 0311

Ice Melt, Sea Level Rise and Superstorms - Hansen 0316.pdf

    Cold icemelt from Antarctica spreads out along the ocean surface.  That prevents the vertical mixing (warmer water to the top) there that has driven the great ocean circulation.  In Antarctica, the warmer water below the ice eats away at glaciers from underneath.  Cold icemelt from Greenland leads to shutdown of the Atlantic overturning circulation.
     Ice losses from Greenland and Antartica grow, modelled as exponentially, with doubling times of 10, 20, or 40 years.  Sea level rises non-linearly, 5-9 meters over 50 to 150 years.  This is simlar to what happened 120,000 years ago, when sea levels rose from 3-4 meters higher than today to about 9 meters higher, including 2-3 meters within several decades.  (For perspective, the sea level range (maximum - minimum) over the recent ice ages was about 125 meters.)

Section Map: Ice