hi5 - Groups - Work Against the Global Warming

Work Against the Global Warming

When Google Translation is on, topics and messages in this group will be machine-translated to your language by Google.

Category:	Other
Created:	Feb 3, 2007
Type:	Public
Members:	48
Owner:	Chathura Ganegoda
Language:	English
Country:	Sri Lanka

What is Global Warming?

Potential increase in average global atmospheric temperatures resulting from the greenhouse effect.

How is it Affected?

Sea level is currently rising at about 2 millimetres (0.08 inch) per year. Between 0.2 and 0.6 millimetre per year has been attributed to thermal expansion of ocean water, and most of the remainder is thought to be caused by the melting of glaciers and ice sheets on land. There is concern that the rate in sea-level rise may increase markedly in the future owing to global warming. Unfortunately, the state of the mass balance of the ice on the Earth is poorly known, so the exact contributions of the different ice masses to rising sea level is difficult to analyze. The mountain (small) glaciers of the world are thought to be contributing 0.2 to 0.4 millimetre per year to the rise.

With global warming, the melting of mountain glaciers will certainly increase, although this process is limited: the total volume of small glaciers is equivalent to only about 0.6 metre (2 feet) of sea-level rise. Melting of the marginal areas of the Greenland Ice Sheet will likely occur under global warming conditions, and this will be accompanied by the drawing down of the inland ice and increased calving of icebergs; yet these effects may be counterbalanced to some extent by increased snow precipitation on the inland ice. The Antarctic Ice Sheet, on the other hand, may actually serve as a buffer to rising sea level: increased melting of the marginal areas will probably be exceeded by increased snow accumulation due to the warmer air (which holds more moisture) and decreased sea ice (bringing moisture closer to the ice sheet). Modeling studies that predict sea-level rise up to the time of the doubling of greenhouse gas c about the year 2050 suggest a modest rise of about 0.3 metre (1 foot).