Twelve ago, on this day, May 13th, 2014.
Melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet is likely unstoppable, two new papers published Monday indicate. That means the sea level rise projects by 2100 will need to be revised, closer to 3 feet of sea level rise.
2014 WAIS collapse unstoppable? The Collapse Of The West Antarctic Ice Sheet Is ‘Unstoppable’ http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-west-antarctic-ice-sheet-results-2014-5#ixzz3GhJp14z6
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 399ppm. As of 2026 it is 430ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The broader context was that concerns about the stability of the West Antarctic glass sheet dated back to 1973 possibly earlier. Before that there had been sort of speculation, “what if the Antarctic melts?” About the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, you have, I think, Hughes in ‘73 and then the famous paper by John Mercer in Nature in January of 1978.
What I think we can learn from this. it’s a slow motion suicide in geological terms. We might call ourselves Homo sapiens, but that’s about as reliable as the words “new and improved” on some washing detergent.
What happened next. Well, here comes the 21st Century, warmest day ever in the Antarctic and the ice sheet melt is just baked in now, and we’re going to see surges in sea level rise that are going to be, frankly, highly entertaining.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
Also on this day:
May 13, 1977 – UK energy experts gather at Sunningdale – All Our Yesterdays
May 13, 1983 – idiots get their retaliation in first…
May 13, 1991 – UK Energy minister fanboys nuclear as climate solution. Obvs.
May 13, 1992 – Australian business predicts economic armageddon if any greenhouse gas cuts made
May 13, 2011 – Climate Institute launches “national week of action” to support Gillard’s ETS