Yale's e360 digest reports that a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science supports the theory that glacial ice on top of Mount Kilimajaro is melting at an accelerated rate. It has shrunk 26 percent since 2000, and about 85 percent since 1912.
The study's lead author, Ohio State University glaciologist Lonnie G. Thompson said melting at this level has not occurred in 11,700 years.
When samples were collected in 2000 "Thompson found high volumes of air bubbles in the upper regions -- evidence that the ice had been melted and refrozen in recent years. There was no such evidence from deeper levels of the ice core."
As in all things scientific, there is scholarly disagreement.
Georg Kaser, of Austria's Institute for Geography of the University of Innsbruck, said the ice sample were only a few years old, so no such conclusion could be reached. In fact, he said, the recent melting is more likely the result of lower moisture levels than a warmer climate.
But Thompson noted that the Kilimanjaro melting appears to mirror the trends elsewhere in the world. add these up, he says "the evidence becomes very compelling."
Maybe it's just me but I've detected a trend in punters opposing any attempt to mitigate the worst effects of climate change...
ReplyDeleteAbout a year ago it was "no it's all a con, nothing is actually happening".
Now it's "well yeah okay something is happening... but it's all down to mother nature and there is nothing we can do about it".
And then there are those who say it's simply too late to do anything - the damage is done.
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