| Re: This summer may see first ice-free North Pole
Quote:
Originally Posted by jfuh  Both of you are thinking only of the immediate effects of the ice melting - which in this case I assume you are relating to rising sea levels.
However that is not the problem. The problem is with radiation absorption and the feedback of such absorption.
Ice and snow reflect radiation back into space where as deep water ocean will take it all in. This feeds back onto itself and contributes then to dramatic changes in weather patterns as well as ocean currents.
That is the cause of concern that is where the big problem lays with a melted arctic as well as the very fact that the arctic melting correlates well with predicted models of precisely what would happen as a result of global warming.
This is but the prequel of what's to come. | I am aware of the reflection issue, but it isn't as severe as many think. The solar angles at the poles are very low, which is the primary reason that the ice can build up in the first place. It wouldn't take much in the way of cloud cover to minimize the solar insolation at the North Pole, and allow the ice to accumulate again.
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