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Just a quick application of logic shows this to be a straw-man argument. The depth of some ice deposits has absolutely no relationship to the volume of ice overall, or when it was deposited.

Not sure why I'm debating with someone who just makes claims without any facts, but here is some more information for you to consider.

Average Ice Depth In Antarctica
Basically, Antarctica is a snow and ice "factory" with ice depths on the Polar Plateau reaching 15,000 feet (the continent's average ice thickness is 7,000 feet). Thus, one of Antarctica's most important resources is its ice. It is said that Antarctica's ice accounts for 70% of the world's fresh water.

Now when you consider that Antarctica is essentially a desert that only averages two inches of snow a year, think about how long it takes to build up 7000 feet of ice.

13,100 feet to the lake.

Wow, I never realized just how much ice is down there. Apparently it can reach up to 3 miles in thickness.

That's as high as any of the Rocky Mountains in the US and has 200' of global sea level tied up in it.

Except there are many science reasearch stations in Antarctica. How would a space station be any different?

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/stations/index.shtml

They are exactly like space stations. But they are not colonies, with farmers, children, etc.

Except there are many science reasearch stations in Antarctica. How would a space station be any different?

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/stations/index.shtml

Bah! Never underestimate the bandwidth capacity of a herd of Adelie penguins.

Hot is caused by global warming (or general fucked-upness of global climate). Magnetic field changing is not due to our daily activity, it's the result of earth's natural geothermal activity deep within earth (interesting thing, earth's magnetic pole reverses about once every million years).

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/news/ 2002/041802mag_flip.shtml

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/wildl ife/penguins/index.shtml

Sheesh slashdot editors, at least do a simple google search first!

... So snow and ice covers around 6% of the planet overall and would have to be on average 116 metres thick (assuming 100% compaction, which it isn't becuase ice is full of air) to achieve a 10 metre sea level rise - does that sound right to you? ...

Roughly half of the ice on the planet is on land, heavily compacted, and over two kilometres thick.

Antarctica is BIG.

Wow, I thought he was dead, but he's not!. Can you point to the slam? The article you pointed to (my link works, yours had an extro /) was mostly positive about the road.

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/news/ 2003/021003road.shtml

Never mind Mars.

The US *is currently* building a road in the Antarctic from their scientific base on the edge of the region too the Pole.
They are *mining snow to fill in crevases*.

The Man on Mars should be worried...

Brown said phase one of the project -- filling huge crevasses with ice on the crevasse fields 70 kilometers (40 miles) south of McMurdo station -- has already been completed.

Sir Edmund Hilary (the first man to climb Everest)has just walked part of it, and needless to say, has slammed the initiative.

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/news/ 2003/021003road.shtml/

How often do they get 220+kph winds in Antarctica?

and what the heck is "Gentoo" anyway?!

Gentoo Penguin

which will cause bigger problems first: global warming or magnetic reversal??

Spending six months to a year or more in isloation, especially in a very small room no bigger than, and maybe smaller that a college dorm room, with only the food and entertainment you brought with you, can be very stressful.

Heck, for the nearest current equivalent look at antarctica, where they get snowed in for the winter, and thay have much larger facilities. While now they have email, etc, they are still pretty isolated, and start to get a little wacky after just the few months of social isolation. The culture starts to evolve and drift based on the unique events on the base.

It is sort of like a bunch of geeks working at a big company. The geeks form their own culture, and are somwhat isolatedfrom the main body of people, even when bumbing into a ton of people in the hall way. Who are the aliens there? the geeks or the working stiffs?

heck, you even see this in religion, those isolated communities off in the desert, etc.

A friend of mine will be running the Antarctica Marathon

quote: "4 continents down, 3 to go..."