01-22-2008 - Earth

sagar: Author=’Lindsay Patterson’ program=’5440′ video=”An ice core platform in Antarctica. (Credit: Flickr user Esoteric)Scientists are looking deep into the ice to reveal Antarctica’s hidden climate history. And they’re finding the future is unlike anything the continent has experienced over the past millennium.

Paul Mayewski: _When many of us started working in the Antarctic twenty, thirty plus years ago, our understanding of the Antarctic was that it was a place that was literally unchangeable, because it was so massive. And the thought that you could see ice shelves disintegrating or large regions suddenly getting warmer was unheard of._

Paul Mayewski is the director of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine. He’s spent the past two decades “traversing”:http://www2.umaine.edu/itase/ Antarctica, collecting ice cores. Ice cores are natural archives of climate history. By studying them, scientists can learn how today’s climate compares to the past thousand years.

According to Mayewski, levels of pollutants found in the ice are much higher than they’ve been in the past thousand years, and greenhouse gases have increased one hundred times faster than at any other time seen in the ice core record. He said that these changes are already making an impact on the continent.

Paul Mayewski: _Is it too late to maintain Antarctica exactly as it’s been for the past fifty to a hundred years? Yes, it probably is._

Our thanks today to NASA, in celebration of the International Polar Year.

Written by Lindsay Patterson

One Response to “Private: Ice cores hold Antarctica’s climate secrets”

1. Harry says:

   January 28, 2008 at 9:36 am

   Hi, friends

   Aluminum is produced with anode made of carbon. It’s been
   used for more than 100 years since the development of the
   Hall-Haroult process for the Al production. And for a 100 years
   is the carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere by the
   Al industry. It’s because carbon anode reacts with the oxygen evolved
   at the anode. To say in simpler words, it burns like coal in a furnace,
   because the temperature of the process is 960 degrees C, on average.
   And a vessel where Al is produced is at least 30 meters long. So you
   can imagine now the dimensions of carbon anodes and all the amounts
   of CO2 emissions into our precious atmosphere for the last 100 years.
   And the process of pollution doesn’t stop continuing day and night. It’s
   making us closer to the end of our civilization. And all we are involved
   into the process, especially, developed countries. Because all we use
   planes to travel all round the world. And planes are made of Al.
   So all we make our contribution to the Global Warming. And the
   governments of different countries just refuse giving us the right
   information about it. These bastards support the aluminum
   manufactures who bring great money into their pockets. There
   is enough aluminum produced in the world. We could just use
   its scrap for the first time before an inert anode is invented and
   adopted in the industry. And before that we must make our
   filthy governors and Al manufactures stop all the Al smelters
   in the world. If only we are going to survive as species in this
   world. We’ve got no planets nearby to live on. And our rulers
   give us an idea of life on other planets such as the Red one or
   Europa just to deceive us and hand us that staff. Who of us
   Could live on those planets if we would destroy our own one.
   Nobody!!! That’s why we must take the following steps:

   1). Completely refuse air travelling. Don’t use planes at all. It’s
   difficult to imagine our hasty days without this transport but we
   and our children could survive. It’s not too late yet…
   Such actions can cause decreasing money left at the airports.
   And this, in turn, in the long run, can make air companies
   bankrupts. And the less air companies in the world, the less
   new planes being produced all round the world for them.
   And the less new planes, the less new aluminium and green
   house gas emissions into our precious atmosphere. It’s not so
   difficult to use trains while travelling in a continent. And
   we’ve got everything for vacations in our own countries,
   especially, in the States. These are severe measures, but
   we are forced to do this by our changing climate being at
   its tipping point.

   2). Let’s all as one demand from our governors to take real
   actions in cutting down CO2 emissions. While it’s not too
   late… First of all they must stop the most part of Al smelters
   all round the world, but not deceive us with their crazy ideas
   about new technologies like feeding plankton in the ocean
   to absorb CO2. It’s just folly and shit!!! We are fed up with it
   and could have no time for this.

   To be continued…

   Reply