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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999
FROM VOLUME 10, NUMBER 12, DECEMBER 1997PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
SEA LEVEL: SEA LEVEL SCIENCE
Item #d97dec46
 "Correlation
Between Rate of Sea-Level Change and Frequency of Explosive Volcanism in
the Mediterranean," W.J. McGuire (Ctr. Hazard Res., Univ. College
London, London WC1E 6BT, UK; e-mail: w.mcguire@ucl.ac.uk), R.J. Howarth et
al., Nature, 389(6650), 473-476, Oct. 2, 1997.
Presents a statistical analysis relating the frequency of explosive
activity of Mediterranean volcanoes to the rate of late Quaternary
sea-level change. The correlation supports a mechanism by which the
climate-driven growth and decay of large ice sheets can influence the
eruptions of distant volcanoes via changes in sea level. (The possible
connection with sea-level change from a warming climate is discussed in
New Scientist, pp. 32-34, Oct. 11, 1997.)
Item #d97dec47
"Projections
of Global Mean Sea Level Rise Calculated with a 2D Energy-Balance Climate
Model and Dynamic Ice Sheet Models," J.R. de Wolde (Inst. Marine &
Atmos. Res., Utrecht Univ., POB 80 005, 3508 TA Utrecht, Neth.; e-mail:
J.deWolde@fys.ruu.nl), P. Huybrechts et al., Tellus, 49A(4),
486-502, Aug. 1997.
Projects changes in surface air temperature and global mean sea level
for the IPCC radiative forcing scenarios, and compares results to similar
calculations in the IPCC second assessment based on a different model.
Temperature projections are similar, but projections of sea level rise are
30-50% smaller than for IPCC, apparently because of differences in the
models used.
Item #d97dec48
"Spatial
Variations in the Rate of Sea Level Rise Caused by the Present-Day Melting
of Glaciers and Ice Sheets," C.P. Conrad (Dept. Earth Sci., Mass.
Inst. Technol., Cambridge MA 02139; e-mail: clint@chandler.mit.edu), B.H.
Hager, Geophys. Res. Lett., 24(12), 1503-1506, June 15,
1997.
The redistribution of surface water mass associated with the melting of
glacial ice causes uplift near areas of mass depletion, depression of
seafloors, and changes in the Earth's gravitational field that perturb the
ocean surface. As a result, many tide gauge and satellite measurements are
in error by up to 20%. Discusses implications under plausible scenarios of
future climate change.
Item #d97dec49
"Ocean
Chemistry of the Fossil Fuel CO2 Signal: the Haline Signal of
'Business as Usual,'" P.G. Brewer (Monterey Bay Aquarium Res. Inst.,
POB 628, Moss Landing CA 95039; e-mail: brpe@mbari.org), Geophys. Res.
Lett., 24(11), 1367-1369, June 1, 1997.
Calculates that the chemical change in sea water through the next
century caused by increasing CO2 will lead to a sea level rise
of about 1.6 mm.
Item #d97dec50
"North
and Northeast Greenland Ice Discharge from Satellite Radar Interferometry,"
E.J. Rignot (Jet Propulsion Lab., 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena CA 91109;
e-mail: eric@adelie.jpl.nasa.gov), S.P. Gogineni et al., Science,
276(5314), 934-936, May 9, 1997.
Results suggest that the north and northeast parts of the Greenland ice
sheet may be thinning and contributing positively to sea-level rise.
Item #d97dec51
"Rapid
Sea Level Rise Soon from West Antarctic Ice Sheet Collapse?" C.R.
Bentley (Geophys. & Polar Res. Ctr., Univ. Wisconsin, Madison WI
53706; e-mail: bentley@ geology.wisc.edu), Science, 275(5303),
1077-1078, Feb. 21, 1997.
A glaciologist comments on theoretical and observational evidence that
the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could collapse, with a subsequent rapid rise
in sea level. Cites evidence of stability in the recent past, to conclude
that it is difficult to see how climate warming (whether anthropogenic or
natural) could trigger a collapse in the next century or two. It is
questionable whether ice shelf thinning would have any drastic effect on
the inland ice.
Item #d97dec52
"Global
Mean Sea Level Change: Correction," Science, 275(5303),
1053, Feb. 21, 1997.
A necessary correction to TOPEX/POSEIDEN satellite data (originally
reported in a May 1995 paper) brings that data in agreement with
historical tide gauge measurements.
Item #d97dec53
"A
Possible Change in the Mass Balance of Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets
in the Coming Century," A. Ohmura (Swiss Fed. Inst. Technol. (ETH),
Winterhurerstr. 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switz.; e-mail:
ohmura@geo.umnw.ethz.ch), M. Wild, L. Bengtsson, J. Clim., 9(9),
2124-2135, Sep. 1996.
The high-resolution ECHAM3 GCM simulates precipitation and surface
energy balance of high latitudes with high accuracy, opening new
possibilities for investigating the future mass balance in those regions.
A simulation for doubled CO2 shows that ice mass loss in
Greenland nearly balances mass accumulation in Antarctica, so that the sea
level change of the next century may be determined more by thermal
expansion of seawater and the mass balance of other small glaciers.
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