27vet Posted August 16, 2013 #1 Share Posted August 16, 2013 The modern meltdown of the Antarctic Ice Sheet mirrors the frozen continent's big thaw after the last ice age ended 20,000 years ago, a new study finds. New ice core records from West Antarctica show the huge ice sheet started heating up about 20,000 to 22,000 years ago, 2,000 to 4,000 years earlier than previously thought. But in East Antarctica, which was higher in elevation, colder and drier than the West, the continent stayed in its deep-freeze cycle until 18,000 years ago. The results were published today (Aug. 14) in the journal Nature.... Read more .... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor Witness Posted August 25, 2013 #2 Share Posted August 25, 2013 Very interesting ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
27vet Posted August 25, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted August 25, 2013 Many new discoveries mess up previous theories 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor Witness Posted August 25, 2013 #4 Share Posted August 25, 2013 (edited) Many new discoveries mess up previous theories This doesn't change my mind about carbon emissions heating the planet up, because I'm a chemist by education, and it's basic chemistry what we're doing. The earth is a big test tube, and while some variations are expected, some are obvious.There are changes occurring that we can see with our eyes, and if the Bunsen burner is constant and the vessel has reached an equilibrium, and there are no volcanic eruptions blocking the sunlight, then it's reasonable to assume that something is going on inside the chamber. WE're changing the chemistry of the atmosphere, and there's no arguing about that. Edited August 25, 2013 by Raptor Witness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug1029 Posted August 26, 2013 #5 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Many new discoveries mess up previous theories And just how does this mess up previous theories? Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
27vet Posted August 26, 2013 Author #6 Share Posted August 26, 2013 It shows that there were flaws inaccuracies with previous studies well that the difference is not great. Yes the earth is being messed up by burning fossil fuels but as long as the population keeps growing particularly in the third world, the burning will continue. They don't pay any kind of offsets. Arrogant parties of the first and second worlds also don't cooperate so I can't see the carbon emissions coming down in the short term. Some people are exploiting the situation to make a lot of money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug1029 Posted August 26, 2013 #7 Share Posted August 26, 2013 It shows that there were flaws inaccuracies with previous studies well that the difference is not great. Yes the earth is being messed up by burning fossil fuels but as long as the population keeps growing particularly in the third world, the burning will continue. They don't pay any kind of offsets. Arrogant parties of the first and second worlds also don't cooperate so I can't see the carbon emissions coming down in the short term. Some people are exploiting the situation to make a lot of money Please say which theory is "messed up" by these revelations. And also, please identify the specific flaws you think you have found. Most "discoveries" are only refinements of previous ideas. I believe this is one. The authors only claim to have found a better way to model climate. That really doesn't change much. Note that forecasts of future climate disasters have been getting worse over the last several years. This is a normal evolution. When the first author discovers something so dramatic that he can't really believe his own findings, he tends to tone it down, to take a conservative approach. Subsequent investigators then discover the same thing and announce a slightly more drastic conclusion. As time goes on, what was once an extreme view becomes the norm and science zeroes in on the true condition. This is particularly the case if the investigators are grad students. That looks like what is happening with climate. It has happened with nearly every other field, so it would be no surprise to see it here. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor Witness Posted August 26, 2013 #8 Share Posted August 26, 2013 It shows that there were flaws inaccuracies with previous studies well that the difference is not great. Yes the earth is being messed up by burning fossil fuels but as long as the population keeps growing particularly in the third world, the burning will continue. They don't pay any kind of offsets. Arrogant parties of the first and second worlds also don't cooperate so I can't see the carbon emissions coming down in the short term. Some people are exploiting the situation to make a lot of money What's "arrogant" is to dismiss the fact that there are seven billion souls on board this ship, and many live hand to mouth.Where will we bury several hundred million dead if you're wrong? If we can buy even 50 years of time, we might have a chance to advance technologically enough to salvage our planet. This is a fools bet we're making. The carbon is trapped in the crust of the earth for a reason, and we're undoing the reason, which leads to another outcome. It's that simple. This has nothing to do with economics, and everything to do with good science. You can't treat the earth like a toilet and expect her sympathy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
27vet Posted August 28, 2013 Author #9 Share Posted August 28, 2013 @doug, do you agree or disagree that theories, hypotheses and theses are altered by improvements in technology? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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