Chain Reaction Shattered Antarctica's Larson B Ice Shelf

New submitter Jim McNicholas writes "At the end of the summer of 2002, all 3000 lakes on the Larsen B ice shelf drained away in the space of a week. And then the 2,700-square-kilometre ice shelf, which was some 220 metres thick and might have existed for some 12,000 years, rapidly disintegrated into small icebergs. The draining of one lake on an ice shelf changes the stress field in nearby areas, causing a fracture circle to form around the lake."

Future?

[gmuslera]

Ok, this happened some years ago. Is useful to predict what will happen maybe soon if there are big ice shelves in similar conditions? Are we walking in thin ice, and could happen from a week to the next that a very huge amount of water is added to the oceans? I don't think nothing of this scale will be enough to make the ocean level rise in a noticeable way, but if we are in that scenario will be pretty bad, maybe we can adapt to the oceans rising a meter in a whole century, but no that that kind of change is so fast.

Re:Reporting on events in 2002?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey, 11 is better than 10 ... because it's 11.

Re:It would be great

[Anonymous Coward]

Mandatory XKCD: Extrapolation [xkcd.com]

Re:Future?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, this will help cool the earth. It's basically like putting a big ice cube in the ocean every now and then.

Haven't you seen Futurama?

Re:It would be great

[93 Escort Wagon]

I didn't realize she'd told you about me! So you're cool with that?

Re:Global warming

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree. Statistics are lies and science is the enemy.

We need to fight this anti-capitalist socialist encroachment by eliminating all traces of science from our nation. We must ban science from the classroom from tomorrow. It's nothing less than child-abuse to expose innocent young minds to science. Next all military and other government funding of any projects in any way science related must be cut off immediately! Finally we should impose an additional tax burden on any company spending share-holders money on science related R&D. Make them see sense!

Only in this way can we stop icebergs from melting and save the world from communism. Listen to common sense, you know it's RIGHT!

Personal Reality

[dbIII]

It's unfortunate that most climate science isn't science

Here we go again. Tell me then, what's your own personal definition of science that's better than the one the scientists and the dictionary uses?

Re:Reporting on events in 2002?

[Noughmad]

Almost everyone here says that Slashdot was so much better ten years ago. Now, the editors listened.

Re:Personal Reality

[serviscope_minor]

Tell me then, what's your own personal definition of science that's better than the one the scientists and the dictionary uses?

You know: the one that says that climate isn't warming and even if it is then it's due to volcanos or sunspots or something and even if that's not the cause we can't do anything about it anyway. Also, if that definition happens to include that the earth is only 6000 years old and evolution doesn't happen that's a bonus too.