James Hansen, a scientist that worked for NASA, and along with sixteen other researchers, have released a new study drawing a scenario of potential rapid sea level rise and powerful storm systems. One of the final conclusions of the report is that the two degrees Celsius global warming is certainly hazardous. The sign concerning quickening ice loss from some fragments of the planet’s ice sheets could lead to an irreversible situation that could be as short as ten years. This study suggests that sea level rises be around one meter by 2100. That is, if the ocean remains accumulating heat and increasing melting ice shelves of Antarctica and Greenland, a point will be reached at which it is impossible to avoid large scale ice sheets collapse with sea level rise of at least several meters, as I discussed in my blog 2.

Based on this climate model suggests that major ice loss will change the flow of the oceans, as big volumes of cold, fresh water pour into the seas. That would decrease the salinity of the ocean and both poles, that could eventually block the ocean’s overturning circulation. That would also warm the tropics more but lead to colder poles, leading to a large contrast in temperatures between middle latitudes and the poles. Then, that situation would lead to dominant storms. The conclusion is that sea level rise is the biggest impact of human made climate change, according to the report.

References:

• Mooney, C. (2015, July 20). The world’s most famous climate scientist just outlined an alarming scenario for our planet’s future. Retrieved February 09, 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/20/the-worlds-most-famous-climate-scientist-just-outlined-an-alarming-scenario-for-our-planets-future/

• Revkin, A. (2015, July 23). Whiplash Warning When Climate Science is Publicized Before Peer Review and Publication. Retrieved February 09, 2016, from http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/23/whiplash-warning-when-climate-science-is-publicized-before-peer-review-and-publication/?rref=collection/timestopic/Hansen, James E.