Even The Antarctic Winter Cannot Protect Wilkins Ice Shelf

reply to post by mirageofdeceit


you say were coming out of an ice age - and yet every `expert` says we are overdue for one ; and what ever the cause of the ice melts there will be a critical de-salination point for the worlds oceans , and with this much freshwater being dumped in it that point will be reached sooner rather than later.

reply to post by Harlequin

and what ever the cause of the ice melts there will be a critical de-salination point for the worlds oceans , and with this much freshwater being dumped in it that point will be reached sooner rather than later.

De-salination. That is a pretty inaccurate term in itself. No salt (saline) is removed from the oceans due to an influx of fresh water. It is more of a decrease in the salt(s) content.

This 'de-salination point' actually doesn't exist. It's an attempt to simplify a chaotic state. It is true that should there be a sufficient influx of fresh water into, say, the Gulf Stream, at some (undetermined) level, it would probably disrupt the flow, due to an imbalance of water density in the location of the influx. This would be short-lived once the influx ceased, however, since the salination content would rapidly stabilize.

To demonstrate the dissipation phenomena pointed out above, pour some salt into one end of a container of water. The 'saltiness' will spread throughout the container equally in a short level of time. Now try it with the water being agitated (simulating oceanic currents and storms). The dissipation of the salt will happen much faster.

In any event, such a cessation of an oceanic current would not be like turning a switch off and on. The flow would decrease, with the rate of decrease being a function of the imbalance of water density. One should keep in mind that the Gulf Stream flows due to prevailing winds, temperature differentials from the sun's influence, and continental geometry. These will not change with CO2 levels. Such a decrease in flow rate would definitely create short-term problems, but not a catastrophe; that is, unless we have somehow decided to outlaw or financially restrict heat sources that would allow us to survive. Of course, who would even think of doing anything like that? Why, it would take some sort of major ponzi scheme like, oh, I don't know... carbon credits and limits on CO2 production?

TheRedneck