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NASA Scientists Suggest We’ve Been Underestimating Sea Level Rise

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Re: NASA Scientists Suggest We’ve Been Underestimating Sea Level Rise

#81

Post by epistasis »

WillPostForFood wrote: post #72
M_Grey wrote: post #11

I suspect that we can expect a lot of bad news to emerge over the next few decades, as the promise of climate change becomes the reality of climate change.

On the other hand, people have been saying that for last few decades, and the bad news hasn't had much impact.

People (well, climate science researchers) have been saying that the changes are decades ahead of us, even now, but that we need to take action now and in the past to prevent these changes.

Given the general staidness of the actual research, I think we need to worry a lot more about where climate science has underestimated the change than where they've overestimated it. The loss function will be brutal on that side.

Re: NASA Scientists Suggest We’ve Been Underestimating Sea Level Rise

#83

Post by BurningFrog »

Daishiman wrote: post #75
BurningFrog wrote: post #64

Have you noticed how you hear about 100 reports about how things may be worse than we though, for each report about the opposite? This says nothing about science, and a lot about what stories get people's attention.

What this says about science is that the consensus from all the experts who have spent man-centuries looking at this is that we're looking at a huge shitshow.

I'm not at all talking about climate change specifically.

This applies to any issue that humanity is worrying about.

Re: NASA Scientists Suggest We’ve Been Underestimating Sea Level Rise

#84

Post by droopyEyelids »

unavoidable wrote: post #9
rwh86 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the reason is gravitational effects. When a large amount of ice melts, the Earth's gravity is shifted away from that region. This gives you a sense of the absolutely huge amount of ice we're talking about. For example, if the West Antarctic Ice Shelf collapses we'll see about 10 metres of sea level rise, but mostly in the northern hemisphere. To underline just how much ice this is, this effect will slowly be…

Potentially related is the centrifugal effect - the Earth bulges at the equator slightly because of spin. Logically, melted ice would tend to cause water to "rise" more at the equators (further from the ice caps) than near the poles.

...and that would slow the rotation of the earth.

I'd love to see a calculation of how much ice would have to melt for us to add another leap second.

Or to back it up, how would timekeeping bodies deal with that?

Would we actually remove a second because there would technically be less "time" (measured in days, meaning axial revolutions of the Earth) per year?

Re: NASA Scientists Suggest We’ve Been Underestimating Sea Level Rise

#85

Post by veeragoni »

blueprint wrote: post #14

Duh. The important thing at this instant is to develop a self-sufficient extra-terrestrial colony or a means by which some people can survive far above the surface of the Earth for 30-80 years. Life on Earth itself has less time than most people are even ready to know. Something on the order of 1-10 years left. There are massive changes coming which will destroy all human civilization on Earth. Global warming is just…

You scare me when you say 1 to 10 years. I want to change. Please provide more info,stats and material to inspire people to change. Atleast,what should i can do in the immediate term

Re: NASA Scientists Suggest We’ve Been Underestimating Sea Level Rise

#86

Post by adrianN »

WillPostForFood wrote: post #72
M_Grey wrote: post #11

I suspect that we can expect a lot of bad news to emerge over the next few decades, as the promise of climate change becomes the reality of climate change.

On the other hand, people have been saying that for last few decades, and the bad news hasn't had much impact.

Maybe not for you. The people threatened by desertification for example might think differently. Or the corals in the great barrier reef.

Re: NASA Scientists Suggest We’ve Been Underestimating Sea Level Rise

#87

Post by rybosome »

pavanred wrote: post #25
Eadrax wrote: post #15

There is nothing we can do, as long China and India get a pass, 3.2 billion people in 2 country doing nothing. Even if the US disappeared off the face of the map, its still to late. I say let it happen, it will propel us into a new era off innovation and environmental awareness. No one is going to take it seriously until its to late anyway .

It is a complex problem. As far as I understand, in the criticism to any work on climate change in the west (at least in the US) is that people are still debating if it is real or not, in the face of evidence; hence there's lack of political will. And, in countries like India or China, the criticism is that lots of people need cheap fuel to get out of poverty and imposing restrictions would impede that. Though, the p…

Yes, the US' continued debate over whether or not this is even real is maddening. Climate change has unfortunately been sucked into the great maw of partisan bickering, to loosely quote a different Vox article on the subject; belief or disbelief is not based on facts, but a deeply rooted sense of identity. And so, due to our highly tribal nature and inability to feel sufficient empathy for those in out groups, the US will not have the majority political will necessary to stop this problem. Barring a series of technological miracles that give us a bevy of cheap, carbon-neutral sources of energy generation and storage, we are completely fucked. I'll probably be lucky enough to die before things get truly awful, but if I have kids, they and their own children are going to experience the horror of a collapsing civilization.

I vote for politicians that take this seriously. I try to discuss the issue rationally and calmly with skeptical friends. I am trying to get involved with a project doing research on nuclear fusion. Beyond that, I try not to think about the fact that I could be one of the last human generations. Walking around every day feeling like the axe is over the neck of our species, and we are too divisive, petty, greedy and apathetic to do anything is just heart-rending. I truly envy people who don't believe (or care) this is real.

Re: NASA Scientists Suggest We’ve Been Underestimating Sea Level Rise

#88

Post by fsloth »

WillPostForFood wrote: post #72
M_Grey wrote: post #11

I suspect that we can expect a lot of bad news to emerge over the next few decades, as the promise of climate change becomes the reality of climate change.

On the other hand, people have been saying that for last few decades, and the bad news hasn't had much impact.

Yeah, it's apparently too abstract of a threat to most people. Maybe they don't get it - intuitively - that 'the planet' actually includes their home as well.

Re: NASA Scientists Suggest We’ve Been Underestimating Sea Level Rise

#89

Post by fsloth »

trentnix wrote: post #3
refurb wrote: post #2

In terms of sea level changes, however, the study found the effects of melting are more drastically felt in regions farther from its source. Would be nice if they had a theory why.

Whatever it is, you can be certain that the solution is massive taxation and central control by bureaucrats.

Don't you think this is a bit too serious issues to waste energy on petty political divisions? Anyway, they only entities that can do something are governments. People are good at locally optimizing their own lives. Not so good at optimizing the good of the whole.

Re: NASA Scientists Suggest We’ve Been Underestimating Sea Level Rise

#90

Post by michaelbuddy »

StanislavPetrov wrote: post #43
bssrdf wrote: post #42

"In terms of sea level changes, however, the study found the effects of melting are more drastically felt in regions farther from its source. According to InsideClimate News, melting sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere might raise water levels more in “the southern Pacific Ocean and equatorial regions.” With all due respect, but melting sea ice doesn't raise sea level. It's a scientific fact the author should check ca…

Ice is 90% more reflective. Melting sea ice turns the oceans into giant heat sinks and accelerates warming.

Except the most "reflective" areas get the least amount of sun per year anyway.
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