Is Global Warming Real? Evidence: Disappearing Glaciers
91Glaciers are melting across the planet, providing strong evidence of global warming.
Climategate has convinced many people that global warming is a hoax. Throughout this series of hubs I have named many organizations (NASA, NOAA, the AGU....) that keep data on various climate indicators.
All of these indicators point to increased warming.
Does that mean that all of these organizations are in on the conspiracy?
You can decide. But while you're thinking about it, let's add the US Geological Survey to the list.
We must add the USGS because they released a report this year detailing the serious decline of US glaciers (pdf link to the report).
"There is no doubt that most mountain glaciers are shrinking worldwide in response to a warming climate," said USGS scientist Edward Josberger. "Measuring changes in glacier mass provides direct insight to the link between glaciers and climate, ultimately helping predict glacier response to anticipated climate conditions."
So, is the USGS just trying to undermine US sovereignty by foisting the global warming hoax on an unsuspecting public?
Consider these facts:
- The Venezuelan Andes had six glaciers in 1972. Four are gone. The remaining two will be gone within 10 years.
- All glaciers at Glacier National Park in Montana are retreating and will disappear by 2070 if current trends continue.
- Alaskan glacier melt is accelerating - from 1.6 feet per year between 1950 and 1990 to 6 feet per year now.
- Between 1963 and 1998, the Qori Kalis glacier in Peru was retreating 13 feet each year. It is now receding by nearly 100 feet per year.
- 92 percent of Kenya's Lewis glacier has disappeared in the past 100 years.
- Glaciers in Uganda have lost 75% of their area since the 1990s.
- Half of all glacial ice disappeared over the past century in the Caucasus.
- Austrian glaciers are in record decline - at a lower point than at any point in the last 5000 years.
- Half of all glaciers in Spain in the 1980s have disappeared.
- Himalayan glaciers are melting by up to 100 feet per year and will be gone by 2035 at that rate. Millions of people in India depend on these glaciers for fresh water. The Himalayans have warmed by almost 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1970s. Mt. Everest's Khumbu glacier has receded 3 miles since 1953.
There are many more examples, as the map above (from Wikimedia Commons) shows.
- Melting glacier: global warming photos
For some beautiful photos of melting glaciers, taken by a fellow writer on hubpages, visit the link above.
More information about the image above available here.
There is no question that glaciers are in decline worldwide.
But glaciers are more than just an indicator of a warming world.
The current retreat of glaciers gives us insight into past climate conditions, and a host of clues that the current warming is faster and warmer than anything in the past few thousand years.
Consider what the National Academy of Sciences had to say about glacier melt and past climate:
...glacier indicators...such as melting on ice caps, organic material uncovered when glaciers melt, and disintegration of ice shelves—provide temperature information. An increase of summertime warmth over the last 150 years caused increased melt on Ellesmere Island’s major ice cap in the Canadian Arctic. This extent of melt had not occurred in the previous 1,500 years (Fisher et al. 1995).
The recent retreat of glaciers has exposed organic material that would have decomposed if not covered by ice, including a human body (the now famous “Ice Man” of the Alps) and plant material (Thompson et al. in press). Three of these finds have been dated (from the Alps, from Washington State, and from Peru) and all have ages greater than 5,000 years before present. This suggests rather strongly that the current deglaciation is unprecedented in the last few millennia at these widespread sites....
An ice core taken from Quelccaya in the late 1970s showed that such melt had not happened in at least the previous millennium. This strongly suggests anomalous warmth in the late 20th century. The Quelccaya ice cap has existed without interruption for more than 1,000 years. If its present rate of shrinkage continues, it will disappear entirely within a few decades...
So I guess we have to add the National Academy to our list of global warming conspirators. Either that, or accept that the evidence is overwhelming for a warming earth.
There is more of that evidence to come.
CommentsLoading...
It serves them glaciers right for sinking the Titanic.
oooo, wait... those were Ice caps.... nevermind.
LOL Great post, William!
Here are a couple of pertinent links--
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/science/space/16
Thanks for dropping by folks.
Breakfastpop - glad to hear I've given you some thing to think about. I'll be writing in the future about how we can link human CO2 emissions to current warming.
Carolina Muscle - Ah, the Titanic, supposedly unsinkable, sinks on its maiden voyage. I'm sure there's a metaphor in there somewhere.
Ralph - thanks for the articles. The last one (only one I had time to read right now) was interesting but I think it's little late for the "wait and see" approach. We've known about this for 40 years - and the planet has warmed according to the predictions.
once again, very thorough and detailed. great work.
(thank you for the link!)
As it turns out, many time-lines postulated from research turn out to be very conservative after certain feedback loops are factored in.
One in particular is very disturbing. Many areas in the Arctic Circle contain vast amounts of permafrost. I suppose there are other areas on the planet as well of which I'm not aware.
What is permafrost? A layer of soil or bedrock that has been continuously frozen for at least two years and as long as tens of thousands of years. Permafrost can reach depths of up to 1,524 m (4,999 ft). It is found throughout most of the polar regions and underlies about one fifth of the Earth's land surface.
Most of this permafrost consists of decaying organic matter that was built up over long periods before being frozen. As the climate warms, the permafrost begins to melt. When it melts, large amounts of methane are released. Methane is a greenhouse gas over twenty times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide.
There is also a huge amount of methane deep in oceans, covered and locked in the mud by a layer of methane hydrate. Warming seawater temperatures may release this methane as well.
A cycle is created. As it gets warmer, more methane is released. The more methane released, the faster it gets warmer. The faster it gets warmer, the more methane is released. http://www.killerinourmidst.com/
Global warming and tsunamis
The pervasive and ongoing movement of methane gas—from seeps, decomposing hydrates, gas washing, and microbial sources—leads to some fascinating phenomena and important questions.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps heat about 20 times more effectively than carbon dioxide. If methane deposits and seeps prove to be ubiquitous in the oceans, they are a potentially significant contributor to global warming.
Relatively modest changes in global ocean temperatures or sea level could trigger a massive release of oceanic methane. If a change in ocean bottom pressure or a rise in water temperatures passes a certain threshold, sizable methane hydrate deposits could decompose rapidly and release a large quantity of heat-trapping gas back into the atmosphere. This scenario has been proposed as a possible cause for some past episodes of rapid global warming. http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/viewArticle.do?id=2441
Another feedback loop results from a reduction in albedo, the ratio of the intensity of light reflected from an object, such as a planet, to that of the light it receives from the sun. As glaciers, ice sheets and snow covered areas decrease in size, less light/heat is reflected back into space. The more ice and snow covered areas decrease, the warmer it gets. The warmer it gets, the faster ice and snow covered areas decrease.
When the effects of these various feedback loops are combined and added into the equation, most estimates regarding the time until radical and devastating changes occur are very conservative.
The longer we procrastinate and argue over the reality of global climate change, the closer we come to the point of no return. In all probability we have already crossed the Rubicon.
"The climate is like a wild beast, and we're poking it with sticks." -- Wally Broecker
Great quote lifted from ColdWarBaby link. Thanks.
CWB is awesome. Thanks CWB, Blue dog, and Jeff!
Hi William here is a Hub I did sometime back on Mount Everest: http://hubpages.com/hub/Global_warming_message_fro
Keep it up, William! I just heard Pat Buchanan deny global warming is man made or that we have anything whatsoever to do with it - he was being interviewed by Chris Matthews who was laughing at his stupidity. I think some people will be deniers will they are living in house boats.
LOL at Pat Buchanan. Thank you Kartika.
Barry - I'm headed over to read your hub right now!
You guys seriously need to become better informed. There is no scientific consensus on global warming, only a political consensus on the idea of global warming. In my country (Australia) we have the same brain dead media as the United States, but we don't accept everything that gets broadcast on the TV. The idea of global warming has never been actually debated openly or fairly with scientists, only through the media with various political figures (and God knows you can't trust politicians). Here are some worthwhile alternative view points to consider.
Going through climate changes has happened before and will happen again; it is a natural process that can’t be stopped by Copenhagen summits or politicians talk.
“Going green” has become a religion with many followers just another way to divert attention from more immediate problems (unemployment, health care, education reforms, etc).
The year 2012 and Global Warming is the least problem we have
Michael Donovan - read the rest of my hubs before you make that claim.
Climate change is CYCLICAL and NOT caused by man.
Co2 is an essential building block of life. Every time you exhale you are creating Co2. Plants can not grow thus life can not exist without Co2.
The supposed science you back is supported only by Governments who are part of the Carbon Tax Agenda. Worldwide any scientist who speaks the truth is being muffled.
This is purely about money! That's it.
Last years temperatures will be different than this years.
Watch the news. January 1 temperatures this year will not be exactly the same as last years January Temperatures.
The "Debunking" you speak of is based on fraudulent claims.
In England Al Gore's movie was banned by a judge because and not made available to schools because there were at least 9 Fraudulent claims.
Al Gore stands to become a BILLIONAIRE by propegating the lie.
Time Magazine 1974 and this is a Direct Quote:
Telltale signs are everywhere —from the unexpected persistence and thickness of pack ice in the waters around Iceland to the southward migration of a warmth-loving creature like the armadillo from the Midwest.Since the 1940s the mean global temperature has dropped about 2.7° F. Although that figure is at best an estimate, it is supported by other convincing data. When Climatologist George J. Kukla of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory and his wife Helena analyzed satellite weather data for the Northern Hemisphere, they found that the area of the ice and snow cover had suddenly increased by 12% in 1971 and the increase has persisted ever since. Areas of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, for example, were once totally free of any snow in summer; now they are covered year round.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,9
When you buy into lies you pay the price.
Look at the people pushing this Agenda.
Investigate Maurice Strong the chief proponent from the United Nations.
Ask yourself simple questions - if this was about saving the planet then why would so many people be working behind the scenes to create companies to profit from this?
How is that in the interest of the public good?
Why would major corporate polluters be allowed to continue polluting as long as they buy "carbon offsets"? You either STOP the pollution or you don't.
The "science" is being muted, not debunked.
Follow the MONEY and you get to the truth.
This is about money and control.
William, we share wavelength not just views. Methane is the one to watch for sure and this will rapidly increase with global warming (manmade or not). Sadly there is so much going wrong at the moment it is hard to know where to focus.
These pages help but we must be careful not to become blinkered ourselves.
Positive harmonious vibrations for 2010 comrade.
Thanks Culinary Caveman!
MikeNV -
Deniers always point to that one Time article. Always.
As if one article in Time magazine equals decades of work by thousands of scientists. The evidence is overwhelming that the earth is warming, that CO2 causes warming, and that humans have added CO2 to the atmosphere.
Look at it logically.
CO2 causes warming.
There is more CO2 in the atmosphere now than at any time in the past 15 million years.
Therefore, the earth will get warmer.
It's very simple.
I will side 100% with Michael Donovan! After the ice age, the earth became warmer, did it not? So why should this time be any different than the natural cause and effects of the universe?
Brightside - this time is different because we have a known greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, at concentrations unseen in 20 million years.
Please read some of my other hubs on the subject.
I have no problems with the notion that we have "global warming" or what I believe to be a better description: "climate change". "Global" means "everywhere, and I don't believe that we have sufficient data from sufficient places to say catagorically "everywhere."
I do have a real issue attributing the changes to CO2. The climate models are "models". Models by necessity are incomplete and approximate. The modeling community is often a "self admiration society" where each modeler tries to emulate the other and hopefully do a little better. I've been there. It's not wrong if you have valid data that back up the calculations.
There are so many unmodeled effects, often ones we don't understand or perhaps not know about, that can potentially have a big impact.
For example, does the motion of the continents (plate tectonics) and the rising of mountains (above and below sealevel) and the evolution of volcanos under the oceans have any impact on climate change? Why would these not cause shifts in air and water currents, small but possibly highly significant?
I believe you should treat this debate like you did your discussion in your excellent article "Christianity and Faith Are a Poor Basis for Morality," with which I quite agree with. To quote you:" Questions are essential to the growth and development of an idea - but they are dangerous to those who rule in the name of that idea."
Do keep asking questions.........
Peleve - thanks for reading and commenting. Have you read my hub CO2 Causes Global Warming, Here's How We Know?
I agree with your statement:
"There are so many unmodeled effects, often ones we don't understand or perhaps not know about, that can potentially have a big impact."
And I think most climate modelers would agree with you. All we can do is try to make the models as accurate as possible.
Thank you for reminding me to ask questions. I'm trying as much as possible to stick with presenting the facts in this series, although it is probably obvious that I am presenting them from one particular perspective.
Let's all keep questioning.
You need to review your "fact" about the himalayan glaciers melting by 2035 in the light of the recent scandal.
Glaciergate. Himalayan Glaciers Retreating. False.
January 12 2010. Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the UN climate change panel, the IPCC, admitted that his alarmist scare about the Himalayan Glaciers melting was untrue. The IPCC’s 2007 report, which won it the Nobel Peace Prize, said that the probability of Himalayan glaciers “disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high”. But it emerged last week that the forecast was based not on a consensus among climate change experts, but on a media interview with a single Indian glaciologist in 1999.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/chri
Also, we have now learned, that he has used this alarmist scare specifically in order to obtain funding for his own climate research projects. Then there's Climategate of course - not that any of these scientists have a vested interest in promoting the global warming hysteria.
We await the next global warming alarmist falsehoods with bated breath.
It seems to me that, even if I removed the bit about the Himalayan glaciers, that the evidence would still be overwhelming that glaciers are melting around the world and that global temperatures are rising. I have four other hubs on the subject of rising temps.
Do you think all the evidence is falsified? That's a lot of evidence, collected by a lot of different people.
Well, we can look at the arctic ice next, if you like:
ARCTIC ICE SHRINKING. False.
Be careful of the alarmist headlines and look carefully at the dates. Arctic ice was indeed shrinking until 2007. In 2008 and 2009 the area has expanded rapidly and continues to do so.
October 2009. Antarctic Ice Melt at Lowest Levels in Satellite Era
http://www.worldclimatereport.com/index.php/2009/1
June 2009. Arctic Ice thickens over unusual summer-
http://www.iceagenow.com/Alaska_ice_thickens_over_
February 2008. Arctic Sea Ice Sees 'Significant Increase' in Size Following 'Extreme Cold'. Ice shrunk in 2007, but is now increasing again in 2008. Satellite images are showing that the cold spell is helping the sea ice expand in coverage by about 2 million square kilometres, compared to the average winter coverage in the previous three years. "It's nice to know that the ice is recovering," Josefino Comiso, a senior research scientist with the Cryospheric Sciences Branch of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland, told CBC News on Thursday.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/02/so_pol
January 2009. Sea Ice Ends Year at Same Level as 1979
Sannyasinman: Your articles are from 2008 and 2009, and they are all from blogs, and based on news articles. And your first article is about the Antarctic, not the Arctic.
Why don't you go to the source instead of relying on blogs? I have a hub on the Arctic Ice, and one on the Antarctic ice, with lots of links to relevant information sources on both. Check them out.
All of the articles quote their sources.
As regards the global warming alarmist scientists with their vested interests, should we believe Mike "hockey stick" Mann; Phil "Climategate" Jones; Dr Rajendra "glaciergate" Pachauri?
As regards "the source", many scientists asked Phil Jones of the CRU for his source data and he refused (he could not really oblige anyway as he apparently had destroyed most of it).
If you want hard science, take a look at the report below and see why more and more scientists are themselves becoming suspicious of the "source data" that they are asked to support.
Quote "recent revelations from the Climategate emails, originating from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia showed how all the data centers, most notably NOAA and NASA, conspired in the manipulation of global temperature records to suggest that temperatures in the 20th century rose faster than, in reality, they actually did. This has inspired climate researchers worldwide to take a hard look at the data proffered by comparing it to the original data and to other data sources. This report compiles some of the initial alarming findings."
There is also evidence in this report of other climate scientists falsifying their conclusions (New Zealand for example), and that Russian scientists "cherry-picked" data to support global warming.
http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/originals/policy
Don't be tempted to throw the baby out with the bath water. The report makes fascinating reading, and is stuffed full of scientific references for the academics amongst us.
So many still believe man has nothing to do with global warming. They disgregard all scientific evidence to the contrary claiming it is false or only done for monetary gain. Frankly I think these folks simply would rather live in denial of research rather than face the fact that man could possilbly be responsible for causing the earth problems.
Thanks for bringing this issue to the forefront. Good job.
It was caused by hair products thats why i want to cancle them out
Thanks for the comments folks. Life has been pretty busy for me lately, so I apologize for the delay in replying.
Science... the poor child that cannot grow up. Science said that antibiotics would eradicate disease in 50 years. In the 1950s (not the 1650s, mind you) science taught that babies in the womb had gills. 50 years ago science "proved" a lot of things that we laugh at today. Science... a work in progress.
Here's a quiz: Who said it? (No Peeking)
The more you know, the less you understand.
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know.
----------------
(Socrates, Timothy, Einstein)
Now, I am not saying that we shouldn't take care of the earth. We do have a command to do just that from our Creator that we should absolutely take seriously. It would be a good idea to have a fairly good grasp of what He has revealed about the earth before we come to conclusions too quickly, though... something science has definitely taught us.
I absolutely believe its real and the pics of glaciers, then and now, show a large decline in the ice.
Interesting hub thanks
No doubt!! Global warming is a very-very real phenomenon. Glaciers are rapidly melting. Thanks for sharing this great piece of your work. I like this hub.
There's nothing like a great visual and your facts are compelling. Thanks for providing all these details.
breakfastpop Level 8 Commenter 2 years ago
The problem with all of this is that it just may be the natural course of events and not man-made. However, your article is very compelling and has given me much to think about. Thanks.