The Big Melt Accelerates

Nick Saluti

5/22/14

Works Cited

Chang, Kenneth. "The Big Melt Accelerates." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 May 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/20/science/the-melting-isnt-glacial.html?_r=0

It appears that the Earth has reached a point of no return regarding climate change. New research has found that many giant glaciers have reached the point where, even if global warming stopped immediately, the melting process would be irreversible. Richard Alley said, “We as people see it as closing doors and limiting our future choices.” The most significantly impacted icecaps so far are located in high mountain ranges in the Andes, Alps, Himalayas, and in Alaska. Fortunately the water located in these glaciers consists of only one percent of the ice on the planet, and it is estimated that their complete melting would only raise water levels by about two feet. However, they serve as an indication of what is to come. Recently created models of future ocean levels place them 215 feet higher than today, possibly posing a threat to coastal cities and communities. This period of time is a transition period where only about 10% of the Earth is covered in Ice. The two extremes are Snowball Earth, where the whole planet is frozen over, and extreme warm periods can leave the earth without any frozen water. To understand the impact of melting glaciers it is critical to understand what a glacier is. Glaciers are essentially frozen rivers of solid ice. They are formed in two steps: the creation of firn, and the compaction of firn. Firn is a substance formed through the compaction of snow into small icy and granular molecules. With even more pressure firn compacts with itself and creates glacial ice.  This allows glacial ice to flow downhill from mountains. Thanks to newer satellite resources measuring the growth and melting of glaciers is now easier than ever before. Unlike previous methods, which literally involved putting a stick in the ground and measuring how far it moves, satellite imaging is extremely precise and has served invaluable to researchers concerned with climate change. Each year, approximately 0.7 millimeters of water is added to the world’s oceans. Researchers from Dartmouth have found that global warming creates systems that reflect on it and lead to even more warming. One notable finding is the rise in the numbers of forest fires globally. In Greenland, soot can cover the snow on the ground and lead to an increased amount of heat absorption and, therefore, more melting.

           

            Overall, a rise in ocean levels can drastically effect coastal communities world-wide. In a worst case scenario, which is a 215 foot rise in ocean levels, major cities like New York would be at risk. Entire communities perpetually flooded by intruding ocean waters.  The rise in the amount of liquid water on Earth would also make drastic alterations to the world’s climate and weather systems. The frequency and strength of tropical storms and hurricanes would increase possibly wreaking havoc among less developed countries particularly in South America. As a Bronxville student this could lead to an increase in floods in Bronxville. Down the line the amount of rainfall in the Westchester area would see an overall rise. This could possibly lead to damage and school closures during the coming years.

             

            I feel like this was a very informative article. The author collected many quotes from outside sources to support his arguments. This helped to both frame and reinforce the points brought forward about global climate change. The charts depicting glacial elevations and possible changes really helped to visualize and understand the content presented in the article. The only thing that I thought would make the article even stronger was an image of the extent of damage that drastically rising ocean levels would cause. Just a graph would be sufficient if it was showing current water levels near major urban areas and how different they would be if there was 215 feet more water present.