Lakes Found Under Antarctic Ice Using Space Lasers

Reverse Gear writes "There is a new study circling the media about new lakes found underneath the antarctic ice sheets that apparently empty and fill back up quite fast. 'The scientists allay fears that global warming has created these pockets of water. They say these lakes lie some 2,300 feet below compressed snow and ice, too deep for environmental temperature to reach. However, it is necessary to understand what causes the phenomenon as it can facilitate an understanding of the impact of climate change on the ice sheet in Antarctica.' NASA also has some information on the technique used to detect these lakes."

Comments

Lakes using lasers?

[Hognoxious]

Lakes can't use lasers. I can only conclude that the lakes are full of sharks.

Re:Lakes using lasers?

[D4rk Fx]

You misread the headline. Apparently the lakes exist under areas where the Antarctic Ice has been using Space Lasers.

ICESAT is Cool

[lecithin]

Here is everything you want to know about this interesting satellite:

http://icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov/

There have been reports of people actually 'seeing' the laser as the satellite goes over:

http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Oct-2003/0064.html

New water holes way under the ice. Fun. I wonder if we will find even more 'new species' as was reported here:

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/1 1/2336230

Re:ICESAT is Cool

[KDR_11k]

If you keep telling people about that soon NASA will be forced through a lawsuit to dangle a huge "Do not look into laser with remaining eye" warning sign from the satellite.

Explanation

[johnw]

Presumably what makes them fill up is the heat from the lasers?

Heisenberg probably rules, OK

So thats where I left my Lake Maker 2000 SX

[Timesprout]

Sorry for the inconvenience everyone.

Yours etc
God

PS
Apologies also if you are on a planet I created with no lakes, shipping on these things is incredibly slow.

The next boogeyman?

[freeweed]

The scientists allay fears that global warming has created these pockets of water.

Without taking a side on the issue, does every natural event have to be compared against the global warming checklist now?

It's like when there's a gas leak (or something equally trivial) in someone's house. The news immediately has to comment that "at this time, authorities say there is no reason to suspect terrorism".

Have we finished jumping at shadows yet?

Formula for global warming OMGWTFBBQ!!1!

[danbeck]

Step #1: Observe abnormal or extreme environmental phenomena
Step #2: Locate a "scientist" willing to go on record
Step #3: Ignore the basic tenets of science. (Observe, theorize, prove/disprove)
Step #4: WE WILL DIE IN THE NEXT (insert your conveniently difficult to prove or disprove number here) YEARS! OMGWTFBBQ!!1!

The very fact that this article has to assure people that these underground lakes have nothing to do with global warming should raise a few eyebrows. I can feel the herd of angry Moderators rushing towards me as I type this.

Re:We're doomed. BFD!

[fishthegeek]

I didn't see a sarcasm tag so I'm forced to conclude that you're serious. Humanity, in all of its faulty glory IS NOT THE CAUSE of temperature change. Repeat after me... "Global warming as caused by human influence is a media driven, grant driven, highly suspect piece of junk science."

Now on to the sitations...

Mars is experiencing the SAME rate of warming that earth is. No possible human cause.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_ice-a ge_031208.html
http://www.heartland.org/Article.c fm?artId=17977

From the 40's through the 70's the concern was global cooling. In a nutshell earths temperatures declined right at the point when emissions for the most part were the worst.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling

Note that as of 2002 we were complaining about Antartica's cooling temperatures. Someone forgot to inform the Antartica Temperature Management Team that they were supposed to turn UP the thermostat so that Antartica could conform to the computer models.
http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20020015034521d ata_trunc_sys.shtml

As late as the 14th and 15th centuries there were frickin' dairy farms on the coast of greenland! Warm enough at that time for frickin dairy farms but lo' there was a mini ice age and it killed them off. Geenland isn't as warm now as it was just a few hundred years ago!
https://conservationfinance.wordpress.com/2006/0 9/01/climate-change-on-greenland/

Satellite (read: stratospheric) temperature readings do NOT show ANY appreciable difference in the atmospheric temperatures
http://www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/MSU/msusci.html

I am way too lazy to keep typing tags. Humans do not cause global warming. Now that I've trolled, flamed, and generally irritated people by saying this, I humbly accept the karma beating I am about to take. That's okay, I can creat another account :-)

Re:We're doomed. BFD!

[Anonymous Coward]

Mars is experiencing the SAME rate of warming that earth is. No possible human cause.

Where are you getting the "same rate" from - it isn't in the NASA page. Furthermore, the exact rate is irrelevant as we are different distances from the sun and have completely different atmospheres. What would be relevent is if the change in rate was the same but we don't have adequate an temperature history of Mars to know that. I'm not too suprised that Mars is warming right now, as ice ages are linked at least partially to solar cycles, and Mars has the same sun as us. However, extensive measurement of solar activity shows that it alone cannot account for the increases in total thermal energy we are seeing.

From the 40's through the 70's the concern was global cooling. In a nutshell earths temperatures declined right at the point when emissions for the most part were the worst.

Yes, and it was a concern. Particulate emissions were causing localized solar blocking leading to decreased temperature. This peaked as particulate emissions peaked and is no longer a significant issue now that most industrialized countries have strict particulate emissions standards. It is a completely orthogonal issue to the green house effect.

Note that as of 2002 we were complaining about Antartica's cooling temperatures. Someone forgot to inform the Antartica Temperature Management Team that they were supposed to turn UP the thermostat so that Antartica could conform to the computer models.

Local temperature decreases do not imply global trends. Furthermore, nowhere in that article did anyone claim that this cooling was inconsistant with global warming predictions as you insinuate.

As late as the 14th and 15th centuries there were frickin' dairy farms on the coast of greenland! Warm enough at that time for frickin dairy farms but lo' there was a mini ice age and it killed them off. Geenland isn't as warm now as it was just a few hundred years ago!

Yep, and it is coming back. No one is worried about that - they are concerned because it looks very much like the temperature is going to rise well beyond what it was in the 14th and 15th century.

Satellite (read: stratospheric) temperature readings do NOT show ANY appreciable difference in the atmospheric temperatures

In the lower stratosphere and lower toposphere. The surface temperature, and upper stratospheres, however do show warming trends - as the page you links says!!

Now that I've trolled, flamed, and generally irritated people by saying this, I humbly accept the karma beating I am about to take.

I don't know if you are trolling or not, but yes your comment is misinformed and should be modded down.