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For the First Time On Record, Human-Caused Climate Change Has Rerouted an Entire River (washingtonpost.com)
A team of scientists on Monday documented what they're describing as the first case of large-scale river reorganization as a result of human-caused climate change (Editor's note: could be paywalled; alternative source). From a report: They found that in mid-2016, the retreat of a very large glacier in Canada's Yukon territory led to the rerouting of its vast stream of meltwater from one river system to another -- cutting down flow to the Yukon's largest lake, and channeling freshwater to the Pacific Ocean south of Alaska, rather than to the Bering Sea. The researchers dubbed the reorganization an act of "rapid river piracy," saying that such events had often occurred in the Earth's geologic past, but never before, to their knowledge, as a sudden present-day event. They also called it "geologically instantaneous." "The river wasn't what we had seen a few years ago. It was a faded version of its former self," lead study author Daniel Shugar of the University of Washington at Tacoma said of the Slims River, which lost much of its flow because of the glacial change. "It was barely flowing at all. Literally, every day, we could see the water level dropping, we could see sandbars popping out in the river."
Addendum to my last:
Note that I live near the Mississippi River, which, until it was leveed all to hell-and-gone, routinely shifted its channel from year to year. So the notion of a river rerouting itself isn't terribly surprising to me, nor is it really that big a deal, unless it reroutes itself over someone's house or a town (which the Mississippi used to do from time to time in the 19th Century).
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
Also I wonder how on-clock we believe these cycles have been coming in the past. Have they all been well within that 15% estimated drift of today? 15% doesn't sound like much for a system so incredibly complex. I may be wrong.
Sounds like you don't really know just how fucked thing have become. Using ice core samples, they were able to calculate how much atmospheric CO2 there was in the past. Here's a graph of it including our really fucked present.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Also:
- Watch sea levels rise
- Watch unprecedented king tides and storm surges destroy billions in coastal property
- Watch millions of coastal & river delta farmers lose their farms due to salt
- Watch global threat levels rise from increased resource conflicts
- Watch temperatures rise
- Watch tropical diseases spread to new areas
- Watch unique and valuable reefs bleach and die
- Watch billions of tourism dollars disappear
- Watch rainfall patterns change drastically
- Watch farmers try to cope with drought & floods like they've never seen before
- Watch rising ocean acidification attack crucial food-web ecosystems
- Watch rising risks of runaway feedback from e.g. Siberian methane traps
- Watch deniers eventually change their tune to "oh well, it's too late to do anything now"
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
Good or bad, what proof is there, this is indeed "human-caused"?
You can at least start with the IPCC report for a round-up of the science, then look at the scientific journals that have been published since then for any updates that have been made.
Note that I live near the Mississippi River, which, until it was leveed all to hell-and-gone, routinely shifted its channel from year to year. So the notion of a river rerouting itself isn't terribly surprising to me, nor is it really that big a deal, unless it reroutes itself over someone's house or a town (which the Mississippi used to do from time to time in the 19th Century).
Sure, but this is well known from rivers that run over a plain - they tend to meander, silt builds up etc. The effect is rather more dramatic when the source dries up or goes to another river. It is the same, basic processes that are behind, but whereas the meandering river phenomenon is common, the interesting thing about this case is that it can be attributed directly to climate change: the glacier has melted away to such a degree that it now drains away through an entirely different channel. It would be great if people would not be so dismissive about these things - the scientists that bring these things up don't do so in order to get high approval rating on social media; they aren't airheaded celebrities craving attention; they point out observations that they think are potentially important, and which they suggest you should have a look at. It may feel great saying stuff like 'Yeah, shit happens; so what?" - right until the day when shit happens to you, particularly if you could have done something about it if only you could have been bothered.