Antarctica contains 85% of the world’s ice and 70% of its fresh water. Antarctica is covered by a cap of ice that flows slowly toward its 22,400 km /14,000 miles coastal, reaching the sea in high ice cliffs. Little more than 1% of the land is ice-free. With a estimated volume of 24 million cu m/5.9 million cu miles, the ice-cape has a mean thickness of 1,880m/6,170 ft and in places reaches depths of 5,000 m/16,000 ft or more. Each annual layer of snow preserves a record of global conditions, and where no melting at the surface of the bedrock has occurred the ice can be a million years old.
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1249&bih=603&tbm=isch&tbnid=FxoasItW0RdW6M:&imgrefurl=http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-01-26/news/17149187_1_ice-shelves-eric-rignot-glaciers&docid=vxS4jq8pVt3_bM&imgurl=http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2008/01/26/mn_antarctica.jpg&w=497&h=500&ei=IDbxTvvNKMTW0QGIvMi_Ag&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=246&vpy=158&dur=4199&hovh=225&hovw=224&tx=120&ty=132&sig=117368686176200137240&page=1&tbnh=115&tbnw=113&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0
Due to global warming and hot spot activity increasing, glacial regions are increasingly retreating as time goes on. If we continue polluting we will eventually find our selves running in to mass flooding, destroying and washing out large amounts of land.
"average temperatures in the Antarctic have increased by about 4.5 degrees F."-McKnight's 10th edition
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1249&bih=603&tbm=isch&tbnid=JcWh0sLedicx7M:&imgrefurl=http://nsidc.org/news/press/20080325_Wilkins.html&docid=wp0s3PX3TeVXUM&imgurl=http://nsidc.org/news/images/20080325_wilkins_figure1.jpg&w=1871&h=1696&ei=F0LxTomcNePb0QGivcTMAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=546&vpy=161&dur=4058&hovh=214&hovw=236&tx=57&ty=135&sig=117368686176200137240&page=1&tbnh=110&tbnw=121&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0
As the climate continues to increase it shows dramatic affect on the ice shelves in the Antarctic. Ice sheets flow outward from the interior towards the sea, meaning ice burgs are being broken off into the sea continuously around the perimeter.
No comments:
Post a Comment