Author Topic: Northwest passage to open up in the next 5 to 10 years. (Read 195 times)

Thrawn · « **on:** November 11, 2002, 11:02:05 AM »

"RAPID GLOBAL WARMING COULD LET SHIPS CROSS ARCTIC ZONE IN 5 YEARS
By Robert S. Boyd
Mercury News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - A centuries-old dream of merchants and sailors, the fabled Northwest Passage across the ice-covered top of the world, may become open for commercial shipping as soon as five summers from now.

Climate records show that the Arctic zone is warming much faster than midlatitude and tropical regions of our planet, causing the ice to melt at an accelerating rate. Some experts say the polar ice cap could disappear during the peak months of summer well before the end of this century.

The ice reportedly shrank more dramatically this year than at any time since detailed records have been kept."

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/4486863.htm

One of the few benefits to Global Warming...which we know isn't happening.

Wlfgng · « **Reply #1 on:** November 11, 2002, 11:17:02 AM »

damn... well I guess my brother living in Siberia doesn't mean he'll be that far away after all !

Thrawn · « **Reply #2 on:** November 11, 2002, 11:19:47 AM »

It's going to be ALOT cheaper to ship products from Europe to the Orient. And visa-versa. I imagine the Panama Canal is going to take a hell of a hit.

whgates3 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 11, 2002, 11:23:13 AM »

henry hudson is a moron

Wlfgng · « **Reply #4 on:** November 11, 2002, 11:29:46 AM »

and the market for Russian women married off to American men will decline...

Manedew · « **Reply #5 on:** November 11, 2002, 11:33:02 AM »

everyone always thinks it's 'global warming' which it could be .. but could it also be us comeing out of an ice age...

didn't glaciers used to cover most of north america? guess if that was the case now, and the ice started melting .. we'd be yelling "global warming" even though we'd get Canada out of the deal.

Thrawn · « **Reply #6 on:** November 11, 2002, 11:38:10 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Manedew
everyone always thinks it's 'global warming' which it could be .. but could it also be us comeing out of an ice age...

Not this fast. Entering and exiting ice ages takes centuries if not millenia, not 30 years. And the speed of regression is increasing.

Wlfgng · « **Reply #7 on:** November 11, 2002, 11:49:16 AM »

exactly. It's not a secret that the earth goes through these cycles naturally. What isn't natural is the speed they are happening at.. I.E. ice shelves melting, etc.

If it weren't so sad it'd almost be funny to say "I told you so" in a few decades.. by then it won't be very funny tho.

OIO · « **Reply #8 on:** November 11, 2002, 12:04:56 PM »

The true reason why the Kyoto Accord wasnt signed by the US. They want the passage...once its opened, they'll sign

(j/k).

john9001 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 11, 2002, 01:02:51 PM »

i read one study that said the melting of the polar caps will change the salinety of the oceans which will change the deep sea currents that will change the gulf stream and bring a new ice age to europe.
so, global warming will bring a new ice age

Thrawn · « **Reply #10 on:** November 11, 2002, 01:12:22 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by john9001
i read one study that said the melting of the polar caps will change the salinety of the oceans which will change the deep sea currents that will change the gulf stream and bring a new ice age to europe.
so, global warming will bring a new ice age

Sounds improbable. The reasons that the ice caps and glaciers are melt in the north and south arctic regions is because it's getting hotter. I under stand that britain is affected by the gulf stream by when the entire atmosphere is warm enough to melt the caps I doubt a glacier is going to march down Europe.

Wlfgng · « **Reply #11 on:** November 11, 2002, 01:14:58 PM »

sure would be fun to watch though

Thrawn · « **Reply #12 on:** November 11, 2002, 01:18:04 PM »

It would make the "What does England have that the US doesn't" thread alot shorter.

"How about a 2 mile high sheet of ice covering it."

"..."

Kanth · « **Reply #13 on:** November 11, 2002, 01:19:53 PM »

yep I watched a show on that, that explained how it all works.

not that I remember but it made sense when I saw it.

Quote

Originally posted by john9001
i read one study that said the melting of the polar caps will change the salinety of the oceans which will change the deep sea currents that will change the gulf stream and bring a new ice age to europe.
so, global warming will bring a new ice age

whgates3 · « **Reply #14 on:** November 11, 2002, 06:56:55 PM »

global warming and climatology is possibly quite nonintuative:
greenhouse gasses lead to global warming which leads to melting polar ice caps which increases the surface area of the oceans.
combine that with higher temperature and you get much greater levels of evaporation & much more cloud cover.
water vapor ( > 90% reflectivity ) is highly reflective, whereas water is not ( < 20% reflectivity) & has great heat storage capacity. so eventually the higher temperatures that are caused by greenhouse gasses might later cause a period of much lower temperatures