Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
I heartily endorse this product and/or service.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                                                     

I dug up the garden of Mrs. Thwaites

Bad dog...
 
(0)
  [vote for,
against]

So, supposedly the Thwaites ice glacier is going to come crashing down sometime soon, thanks to a hole discovered underneath it, no doubt dug up by the Digging-est Dog.

This is billed as a VERY BAD THING on the order of catastrophic sea rise of two feet or so everywhere.

I’m interested in the supporting math.

The earth has 139.7 million square miles of ocean. That’s 5.608E17 square inches. To raise all of that 1 inch would take 5.608E17 cubic inches of water I presume, given square-sided oceans. That is 2200 cubic miles of water, unless I missed a step.

NBC claims a rise of 2 feet possible, so 24 x 2200 =~53000 cubic miles of water. Or a 1000 ft thick glacier that is 279400 square miles, or roughly the size of Texas.

What say you? Anyone got a slide rule handy?

(Title borrowed from my favorite childhood book)

RayfordSteele, Feb 07 2019

Back in the news... https://www.nbcnews...tists-warn-rcna8918
Yikes. [RayfordSteele, Dec 16 2021]

[link]






       So, ways to insulate the icebox so the hot hot Antarctic sea water doesn’t melt it further?
RayfordSteele, Feb 07 2019
  

       Gah, the units. Why don't you go the whole hog, and use chains or furlongs?
Loris, Feb 07 2019
  

       //catastrophic sea rise of two feet// Thank gods it's imperial water - England is metric, and hence protected.
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 07 2019
  

       //England is metric, and hence protected// - although post-Brexit, as part of 'regaining control' and recapturing our 'glorious past' we'll be giving up the metric system, decimal currency, antibiotics, flush toilets and a Copernicus-based model of the universe.
hippo, Feb 07 2019
  

       Uh, shirley we'll get to keep antibiotics and flush toilets, and it'll be the Europeans who have to give them up?
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 07 2019
  

       Ah yes, but we get see extra bendy bananas again.
xenzag, Feb 07 2019
  

       A plus then, I can stop hiding mine from EU inspectors.
Skewed, Feb 07 2019
  

       And as any fule kno the preferred unit of land area is 'the size of Wales'.
bhumphrys, Feb 08 2019
  

       Step One: Install caryatids.   

       Step Two: Turn underwater, plinth-mounted handles to activate concealed jacks, so that the caryatids perform a sort of synchronised Pilates-stretch until the ice is lifted clear of the water.   

       Spacing of caryatids will depend on the shear strength of the ice and the sheer strength of the jacks.
pertinax, Feb 08 2019
  

       //a Copernicus-based model of the universe.//
I don't think we've ever used that have we? For as long as I can remember (which isn't all that long these days, admittedly) England has always been placed firmly, unflinchingly & patriotically at the centre of the Universe.
DrBob, Feb 08 2019
  

       Will you surrender the metric system back to the French?   

       Will you go back to using pounds shillings, and pence, or LSD? (Anyone wanting to have anything to do with Pence must be on LSD honestly).
RayfordSteele, Feb 09 2019
  

       Pounds, shillings, pence & LSD? sounds good, lead on macduff.
Skewed, Feb 09 2019
  

       Hard metric except speed limits?   

       I suppose hardness is not the same as thoroughness, so we might say something like "hard metric except the last mile". Progress towards full metrication inches forward.
pertinax, Feb 09 2019
  

       That is a weighty answer, Ian, for a light jab. How many stones does it weigh I wonder?
RayfordSteele, Feb 09 2019
  

       //drinks are sold in a pub//   

       They still do that? I thought all the pubs had been re-purposed as flats already.
Skewed, Feb 09 2019
  

       //the metric equivalent (which may not be exact, but the nearest within tolerance) given second and in brackets// What happens if you want to buy brackets?   

       As regards road signs being in mph, this is because the roads themselves are, for the most part, imperial. If we used metric for roads, you'd get signs like "BASINGSTOKE 23.77331 KM", which would be confusing because nobody wants to go to Basingstoke.
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 09 2019
  

       // I’ve even done so myself //   

       <Forwards text of annotation to Fortean Times for inclusion in their next "Urban Legends" column./>   

       // confusing because nobody wants to go to Basingstoke. //   

       No, because the signs are on the sides of the roads leading away from Basingstoke, reassuring travellers that they are getting further away.
8th of 7, Feb 09 2019
  

       //"BASINGSTOKE 23.77331 KM"//   

       Brings back that old question of whether nature is metric, imperial or something else. </baton's down hatches ( couldn't find a hammer), pushes couches against doors>
wjt, Feb 10 2019
  

       Sp. Battens   

       Carry on
pertinax, Feb 10 2019
  

       The Planck length is ~1.6 E-35 meters. 1 mile is ~1.6 km. Therefore nature is imperial-based. 1 Planck length ~1 E-38 miles.   

       BOOM!
RayfordSteele, Feb 10 2019
  

       Sp. ~BOOM
pertinax, Feb 11 2019
  

       [pertinax] There's a decimal place,hexidecimal place and all the other different bases' places. Is the general term 'base place' or is there a specific term?
wjt, Feb 11 2019
  

       I'm sorry, [wjt], I haven't a clue.
pertinax, Feb 11 2019
  

       Rayner's Lane (Picadilly Line).
8th of 7, Feb 11 2019
  

       So, the media alarmists who like to grab onto the extremum of any science report for the headline appeal say at the worst, a 10 feet rise within 5 years.   

       That sounds kinda bad even at a low probability. Especially if you own property in Florida or along any barrier island...
RayfordSteele, Dec 16 2021
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle