Hi Gang:

Here's a question for all of you global warming buffs.

If the ice around the North Pole is melting...why isn't the ice at the South Pole also warming???

Heat rises ... but it goes UP...not North.

I know when we look at a map North is always up,but that's only when we look at a map.

The warmest spots in the world occur at the Equator...no???

So why is a spot farthest from the Equator ,and also farthest from the sun ,melting ???

hippolips

When we're talking about 93 million miles the distance of 4,000 miles or so, is negligible. And The equator is warmest, not because of distance, but because of time it is in the direct path of the sun and receiving radiant heat, like the chicken on a rotisserie. Both poles are always at an angle with respect to the ecliptic, the path of the earth's revolution around the sun.But the ice is being melted because burning of fossil fuels causes the atmosphere to collect more carbon dioxide, which traps heat that gets in through the atmosphere but has more trouble getting back out into space.IMHO. The hottest spot on earth is, I believe, in Death Valley.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by frankvan:
But the ice is being melted because burning of fossil fuels causes the atmosphere to collect more carbon dioxide, which traps heat that gets in through the atmosphere but has more trouble getting back out into space.
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Hi Frank:

But why is the burning of fossil fuels only affecting the Noth Pole , but doesn't affect the ice at the South Pole????

It would seem that if heat or fossil fuels melts ice it would melt ice everywhere ...no???

Why only the North Pole???

hippolips

I don't know. I'm sure that the south pole is colder than the north, but I didn't know that it wasn't affected by the global warming. If that's the case, I imagine it could have a lot to do with the fact that the entire geography is completely different. I'll try to find out unless someone else has the answer for you.

Hippo, you must also remember that the Arctic ice is floating on water; water is flowing underneath it. The ice at Antarctica is mostly on land. Those facts will also make a difference in the ice melt.

Further, when winter arrives at the Arctic ice pack, the pack does grow larger than it was in the summer. But it does not reach the size it formerly did during winters.

Hippolips,
Here is a really interesting site; it shows the impact of global warming on the Antarctic and worldwide:

Global Warming

I'm pretty sure the South Pole is melting, as well. That is where the Larsen Ice Shelf is that keeps breaking off in pieces due to the "alleged" warming. The Larsen A ice shelf disintegrated in January of 1995. The Larsen B ice shelf disintegrated in February of 2002. The Larsen C ice shelf appears to be stable.