View Full Version : How to melt the polar ice caps.
Pandoras Assassin
2008-08-15, 18:08
If i were to melt a large portion of the North or South ice caps what do you think would happen to the world. I'am thinking major flooding? How woudl someone pull this off. Or dose this thread belong in BI? ;)
My thoughts would be to move the ice. Rather than trying to melt the ice, cut the sea ice off and tow it close to the equator. Over a few months the ice should melt.
mayor of monkey town
2008-08-17, 14:21
There'd be flooding, but it would be ebb and flow like the tides, also weather patterns would be violent and unpredictable everywhere so you wouldnt be able to farm effectively.
Most of the earths sun is reflected back into space by the polar ice caps, which do not absorb heat like the oceans do - in fact they have a cooling effect on the oceans as you can see from any global ocean current pattern chart.
When we lose them, and its not an if - its a when.
When we lose them its pretty much the point of no return - weather patterns will just get fucked up, farms cant feed the cities and civilization collapses.
AxisMundi
2008-08-20, 23:16
There'd be flooding, but it would be ebb and flow like the tides, also weather patterns would be violent and unpredictable everywhere so you wouldnt be able to farm effectively.
Most of the earths sun is reflected back into space by the polar ice caps, which do not absorb heat like the oceans do - in fact they have a cooling effect on the oceans as you can see from any global ocean current pattern chart.
When we lose them, and its not an if - its a when.
When we lose them its pretty much the point of no return - weather patterns will just get fucked up, farms cant feed the cities and civilization collapses.
When we lose them, it will screw up the currents (air and water) and more likely than not they will reform elsewhere over time (lots of time)
I'mAfraidofJapan
2008-08-29, 09:42
There'd be flooding, but it would be ebb and flow like the tides, also weather patterns would be violent and unpredictable everywhere so you wouldnt be able to farm effectively.
Most of the earths sun is reflected back into space by the polar ice caps, which do not absorb heat like the oceans do - in fact they have a cooling effect on the oceans as you can see from any global ocean current pattern chart.
When we lose them, and its not an if - its a when.
When we lose them its pretty much the point of no return - weather patterns will just get fucked up, farms cant feed the cities and civilization collapses.
I highly doubt civilization will collapse. We might have to change our lives but anarchy won't ensue if the weather changes around the world.
Eagle Bay
2008-09-05, 13:09
Use a C-130 Hercules, fill it with black powdered soot, and fly it over the glaciers, criss-crossing them. The blackened parts will absorb more sunlight, and will melt away. Then the weight of the lower parts will cause them to break away and slide into the ocean.
Continue to dust the ice with black soot until it all melts. Then you'll have your great flood.
(But before that happens, some rich smartass will buy a couple of freighter ships worth of powdered iron, and dump it on the ocean floor to cause an ice age.)