16 Jun 2006

Gaia Shivers with Fever

Arctic sea level has been falling by a little over 2mm a year - a movement that sets the region against the global trend of rising waters.

Nasa investigates changes in the Earth's shape

The question arises, is the melting of ice at the poles causing the Earth to change shape as water moves towards the equator, and if so, is this creating the recent spate of earthquakes?

Could it be that the impacts of climate change may even be seen in the Asian tsunami and the Pakistan and Java earthquakes?


Addendum

mongabay.com June 28, 2006

Scientists say melting glaciers could induce tectonic activity.

The reason? As ice melts and waters runs off, tremendous amounts of weight are lifted off of Earth's crust. As the newly freed crust settles back to its original, pre-glacier shape, it can cause seismic plates to slip and stimulate volcanic activity according to research into prehistoric earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Sharon Begley of The Wall Street Journal recently wrote about the subject in her "Science Journal" column, noting that new research suggests that when ice sheets retreated some 10,000 years ago, volcanoes in the Mediterranean, Antarctica and California became more active.

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