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Arctic Sea Level Falling?
HRH King Lerxst with a link to BBC News' report that "Arctic sea level has been falling by a little over 2mm a year — a movement that sets the region against the global trend of rising waters. ... It is well known that the world's oceans do not share a uniform height; but even so, the scientists are somewhat puzzled by their results."
Nice speculation. But since the end last ice age most of the coastlines surrounding the Arctic Ocean have undergone isostatic rebound. Most of these areas were highly glaciated and heavily loaded with ice. Once the ice was rapidly removed the land maintained bouyant equilibrium by rising. Apparent sea levels have been falling in these areas for 1000's of years. The only question is how long it will continue and how isostacy and sea level rise interrelate in different areas.
an ill wind that blows no good
" The polar caps are actually *growing* this year, as they have been recently, not shrinking."
if you want to be a pedant, parts of the middle of certain ice sheets are thickening do to increased precipitation, which is due to excess evaporation from warming. the rest of these ice sheets are melting, and more is melting than is thickening.
but thanks for playing "clouding the issue with Dan Grossman" Don, tell him what he didn't win!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_dimming [Wikipedia on Global Dimming]
Quote: Some scientists now consider that the effects of global dimming have masked the effect of global warming to some extent and that resolving global dimming may therefore lead to increases in predictions of future temperature rise.
Because they don't know how to swim?
They ate less than twenty minutes before entering the water?
Just too damned fat?
They're drunk?
Suicide pacts?
Forgot their water wings?
Their star is falling while their pollyanish wives are reaching the big time?
They were all carrying Hamlet's child?
#19845