A “water world” , the future of our planet

 

Slow but steady the melting of the Antarctic ice according to new researches.

In an “aqua world”  like the one appeared in the film a film 0f 1995, will be converted our planet in the future according to two surveys published in the valid scientific magazine ” Nature”.

These studies, in which scientist from all around the world took place, had to do with the history of the melting of the ices in Antarctic: as shown in the relevant measurements, 3 to 5 million years in the past, one large part of the melting glacier had cut off and led to a rising of the sea level by 16 feet (about 4 meters), causing catalytic changes in the planet. The separation had occurred due to the appearance of thermal currents in the Antarctic Ocean, which slowly but surely won the battle with the glaciers.

As stated by Tim Neis, director of the Antarctic Research center of the Victoria University of New Zealand! “The facts that we had observed in the past, suggest that there is a possibility to reoccur a separation in the western glacier.”

The separation of the icebergs from the west side of the Antarctic is not something new, as it is something that is happening for years-however, according to the researches that appeared in “Nature”, that is nothing compared to the massive ice melting of the future. Moreover, some of the evidence which is used to export the results of the surveys, showed a “cycle”, where large parts of the Antarctic ice melt every 40,000 years.

Nevertheless, there is a note of optimism, as on the one hand, the conditions were different 40,000 years ago (there have been changes regarding the planet’s movements since then). On the other hand, this phenomenon will not take place into the near future as the researches show it will take centuries, maybe even millennia to complete. According to rough estimates , a rise in temperature of about 9 degrees  Fahrenheit should be made before we start talking about a massive melting of ice, and as other studies have shown, something like this will not happen in any case until 2100 (so it is considered that there is still time to take measures.)

However, this does not mean that the problem should be ignored, since this particular type of ice melting, which is based on the appearance of hot currents, it is extremely difficult to stop if it is launched. And according to Andrew Weaver, a leading scientist in the field of climate change from the University of Victoria, has begun, as the rates of warming in the western Antarctic is the largest in the world.

” We eventually have to pass the message that if there isn’t something done for the reduce of the greenhouse gas emissions, a rise of the sea level in the coming century by at least 5 meter would be inevitable” said Weaver, who, although does not directly involve in the researches, praised their work as very constructive in the field of the climate changes.

These two researches were the first fruits of a multinational Antarctic program research, where the 2/3 of the funding comes from the National Science Foundation of the United States.