Antarctic coastal ice thinning surprises experts

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent – Wed Sep 23, 3:30 pm ET

OSLO (Reuters) – Scientists are surprised at how extensively coastal ice in Antarctica and Greenland is thinning, according to a study Wednesday that could help predict rising sea levels linked to climate change.

Analysis of millions of NASA satellite laser images showed the biggest loss of ice was caused by glaciers speeding up when they flowed into the sea, according to scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and Bristol University.

"We were surprised to see such a strong pattern of thinning glaciers across such large areas of coastline -- it's widespread and in some cases thinning extends hundreds of kilometers inland," said Hamish Pritchard of BAS who led the study.

"We think that warm ocean currents reaching the coast and melting the glacier front is the most likely cause of faster glacier flow," he said in a statement.

"This kind of ice loss is so poorly understood that it remains the most unpredictable part of future sea level rise," he added. BAS said the study gave the "most comprehensive picture" of the thinning glaciers so far.

Rising seas caused by a thaw of vast stores of ice on Antarctica and Greenland could threaten Pacific islands, coasts from China to the United States and cities from London to Buenos Aires.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said earlier this month global warming, blamed mainly on burning fossil fuels, could raise sea levels by 50 cm to 2 meters (20 inches to 6 ft 6 in) this century -- higher than most experts have predicted.

Among findings, Wednesday's study said 81 of 111 fast-moving glaciers in Greenland were thinning at twice the rate of slow-flowing ice at the same altitude.

"Dynamic thinning of Greenland and Antarctic ice-sheet margins is more sensitive, pervasive, enduring and important than previously realized," they wrote. "Dynamic thinning" means loss of ice due to a faster flow.

They said it was too early to determine whether the thinning was a sign that sea level rise would accelerate from a current rate of about 3 mm (0.12 inches) a year.

"Working that out is the next task," David Vaughan, a BAS glaciologist among the authors, told Reuters. Thinning in some areas could be caused by changes in snowfall, for instance, not the slide of ice toward the ocean, he said.

Source: Reuters via Yahoo

Algaeus lives! A modified Prius goes cross-country on fuel from algae

By David Biello in 60-Second Science Blog

You really can drive across country on algae and a 700-pound battery pack, or so proved the crew behind the documentary Fuel .

Embarking on September 8 and pulling into New York City today, just in time for the film's premiere, the Algaeus covered 3,750 miles.

"It got 147 miles-per-gallon in the city," says Fuel director Josh Tickell of the converted to plug-in Prius hybrid that he drove on a mix of battery power and algae fuel blended with conventional gasoline. The Algaeus did less well on the highway: 52 mpg, because of the lack of regenerative braking that recharges the battery, among other things.

The algae came from 22 acres of special ponds at Sapphire Energy's research and development facility in New Mexico, where local strains of the microscopic plant grow in vats of saltwater while being fed CO2 that would otherwise go into Coca-Cola and other fizzy drinks, according to Tim Zenk, a spokesman for Sapphire.

The company claims that its algae produce at least 30 percent by weight of oil and they delivered approximately five gallons of gasoline derived from their algal oil to prove it. Refined by Syntroleum in Louisiana, the algae gasoline behaved no differently in the car, according to the driving crew.

Of course, that's because the mix in the cylinder was roughly five percent algae-derived gasoline and 95 percent 91-octane premium gasoline. And with the addition of a second battery pack in the trunk, courtesy of Plug-In Conversions, the Algaeus could travel 25 miles on electricity alone (after six hours of charging).

In the 10-day journey, the crew did not manage to get rid of the new car smell, but they did manage to get some thumbs up—and break some speed limits—on the long trek. They also proved that algae fuel doesn't smell too much like a neglected swimming pool, although some of the unrefined oil can be redolent of the ocean, Zenk says.

"We really view it, not to sound grandiose, as an Apollo mission for algae and renewable fuel," says Fuel producer Rebecca Harrell, of the first cross-country trip on algae fuel and battery power.

Ultimately, the filmmakers hope to offer an insight into alternatives that are here today. After all Sapphire claims to get about 5,000 gallons of algal oil per acre of pond. The next step? Raising $1 billion to build a 10,000 barrel a day facility in New Mexico, Zenk says. "At that level, we can produce algal oil for $60 to $80 per barrel." Or roughly the cost of conventional oil today. And that might herald the real start of alternative fuels from algae.