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A slippery slope: How much global warming constitutes “dangerous anthropogenic interference”?

A slippery slope: How much global warming constitutes “dangerous anthropogenic interference”? A SLIPPERY SLOPE: HOW MUCH GLOBAL WARMING CONSTITUTES “DANGEROUS ANTHROPOGENIC INTERFERENCE”? An Editorial Essay In a recent article (Hansen, 2004) I included a photograph taken by Roger Braithwaite with a rushing stream pouring into a hole in the Greenland ice sheet. The photo relates to my contention that disintegration of ice sheets is a wet, potentially rapid, process, and consequent sea level rise sets a low limit on the global warming that can be tolerated without risking dangerous anthropogenic interference with climate. I asked glaciologist Jay Zwally if I would be crucified for a caption such as: “On a slippery slope to Hell, a stream of snowmelt cascades down a moulin on the Greenland ice sheet. The moulin, a near-vertical shaft worn in the ice by surface water, carries water to the base of the ice sheet. There the water is a lubricating fluid that speeds motion and disintegration of the ice sheet. Ice sheet growth is a slow dry process, inherently limited by the snowfall rate, but disintegration is a wet process, spurred by positive feedbacks, and once well underway it can be explosively rapid.” Zwally replied “Well, you have been crucified before, and March is the right http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Climatic Change Springer Journals

A slippery slope: How much global warming constitutes “dangerous anthropogenic interference”?

Climatic Change , Volume 68 (3) – Jan 1, 2005

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References (30)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 by Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.
Subject
Earth Sciences; Atmospheric Sciences; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts
ISSN
0165-0009
eISSN
1573-1480
DOI
10.1007/s10584-005-4135-0
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

A SLIPPERY SLOPE: HOW MUCH GLOBAL WARMING CONSTITUTES “DANGEROUS ANTHROPOGENIC INTERFERENCE”? An Editorial Essay In a recent article (Hansen, 2004) I included a photograph taken by Roger Braithwaite with a rushing stream pouring into a hole in the Greenland ice sheet. The photo relates to my contention that disintegration of ice sheets is a wet, potentially rapid, process, and consequent sea level rise sets a low limit on the global warming that can be tolerated without risking dangerous anthropogenic interference with climate. I asked glaciologist Jay Zwally if I would be crucified for a caption such as: “On a slippery slope to Hell, a stream of snowmelt cascades down a moulin on the Greenland ice sheet. The moulin, a near-vertical shaft worn in the ice by surface water, carries water to the base of the ice sheet. There the water is a lubricating fluid that speeds motion and disintegration of the ice sheet. Ice sheet growth is a slow dry process, inherently limited by the snowfall rate, but disintegration is a wet process, spurred by positive feedbacks, and once well underway it can be explosively rapid.” Zwally replied “Well, you have been crucified before, and March is the right

Journal

Climatic ChangeSpringer Journals

Published: Jan 1, 2005

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