GoSeigen wrote:Sorcery wrote:I just find it odd that vulcanism didn't get a mention.
I find it odd that the OP thinks something so insignificant required a mention. What about the sun warming the glacier, the article didn't mention that. Perhaps the BBC doesn't want people to realise the sun warms the earth?
GS
Have I ever said vulcanism was insignificant? If you think it is, perhaps you could explain? Not insignificant in Iceland or Greenland (if there were volcanoes there, not seen reports of them) or Antarctica. The BBC article from the OP mentioned warm water undercutting the glacier without mentioning the likely cause/source of the warm water.
Not sure the sun has a great deal of effect in Antarctica, it is almost permanently cold, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Antarctica
The mean annual temperature of the interior is −57 °C (−70.6 °F). The coast is warmer; on the coast Antarctic average temperatures are around −10 °C (14.0 °F) (in the warmest parts of Antarctica) and in the elevated inland they average about −55 °C (−67.0 °F) in Vostok.[12][13] Monthly means at McMurdo Station range from −26 °C (−14.8 °F) in August to −3 °C (26.6 °F) in January.[14] At the South Pole, the highest temperature ever recorded was −12.3 °C (9.9 °F) on 25 December 2011.[15] Along the Antarctic Peninsula, temperatures as high as 15 °C (59 °F) have been recorded,[clarification needed] though the summer temperature is below 0 °C (32 °F) most of the time. Severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance from the ocean. East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation.[citation needed] The Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate. Higher temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing.
Threats to the ice sheet seem to be warmish water.
Have I done something to upset you GS? If I have it's unintentional.