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http://environment.newscientist.com/art ... -halt.html

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It was the biggest climate event of the last 10,000 years and caused the most dramatic change in the weather since humans began farming. And it may yet hold important lessons about climate change in the 21st century.

Just over 8000 years ago, a huge glacial lake in Canada burst, and an estimated 100,000 cubic kilometres of fresh water rushed into the North Atlantic. Researchers now say they know for sure that this catastrophic event shut down the Gulf Stream and cooled parts of the northern hemisphere by several degrees for more than a hundred years.

An article on the flood that shut down the Gulf stream. Some of you may think, as I do, that the time frame seems a bit off. Be sure to click on the simulation.

Modern concerns arise because melting ice, especially on Greenland and in Siberia, is making the North Atlantic less saline. Oceanographers worry that this might eventually be sufficient to shut down the ocean circulation, says Kleiven, just as happened 8000 years ago, "particularly given the concerns about the impact of future warming on the Greenland ice sheet."

A very interesting article but you have to admit that there is a magnitude, or several magnitudes, of difference between Greenland melting and 100,000 cubic kilometers of water being released in one shot.

I agree. Greenland doesn't seem as menacing in view of this report. I was also a bit surprised to see on the simulation that the draining of L. Agassiz took several thousand years.

Big lake.

And, in the end, the global scheme came back to “normal".

Whatever "normal" is.

Anyway, another article on this:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... rrent.html

From Archaeologica News.

I guess by “normal” I meant the clockwise swirl surface currents of the Northern Oceans and the counterclockwise of the Southern Oceans.

They, combined with the vertical currents this story is talking about, are what keep two thirds of this planet moving, mixing, and in general averaging out a lot of peaks and valleys in our various climates.

A one hundred year “disruption” seems a pretty small result for such a large event.

I doubt that if all the ice in Greenland were to melt that it would be very noticeable. For sure if it was to take years to happen.
It would be like spitting into the Mississippi.

I doubt that if all the ice in Greenland were to melt that it would be very noticeable

Except for people living on the coast.

The coast of Greenland?
Maybe.

kbs2244 wrote:I doubt that if all the ice in Greenland were to melt that it would be very noticeable.

Not noticeable?
ALL the world's coastlines would be completely redrawn.
You wouldn't recognize your own map anymore, and have your holiday-by-the-sea in Atlanta, Georgia!

I wouldn't want to be in Miami beach if it happens......


http://www.mnforsustain.org/climate_cha ... k_1105.htm

The Greenland ice sheet contains enough water to raise global sea levels by 15 to 20 feet. Although the entire ice sheet is unlikely to melt in this century, even a small change in the rate of melting could inundate low-lying coastal plains and add enough fresh water to the North Atlantic to change ocean circulation patterns, Tulaczyk said.

Has anybody done the math?
How many cubic miles of ice in Greenland above the current sea level, spread out over the square miles of the surface of the current world wide sea level, would raise it how much?
On a global scale, Greenland is pretty small.

Apparently.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... emelt.html

According to a new climate change study, the melting of Greenland's ice sheet would raise the oceans by seven meters (23 feet), threatening to submerge cities located at sea level, from London to Los Angeles.

OK
23 feet is a lot.
But read the first sentance.
"One thosuand years" & "If"
Another "The sky is falling" story.

"A one-meter [three-foot] sea level rise would submerge a substantial amount of Bangladesh,"

These people won't have to wait so long. Besides, that story is dated 2004 and I seem to recall seeing that the process is accelerating.

Wouldn't want to be living in Florida either.