Roadside explosives in Iraq kill four U.S. soldiers, injure 3 others

 

HUMVEES ARE SUFFICIENT TO PROTECT OUR TROOPS?

Seriously now. Look at that explosion and tell me those vehicles in the foreground are substantial enough to protect the personnel of the USA Military?

What are they doing with Humvees in war?


Thursday: 151 Iraqis, 2 Marines, 1 British Soldier Killed (click on)

In Iraq today, at least 151 people were reported killed or found dead, including several foreign militia members. Fifty-nine Iraqis were wounded as well. Also, two Marines and a British soldier were killed in separate incidents, and two GIs and a British soldier were wounded.

According to military authorities, two Marines were killed during combat operations yesterday. Two GIs were wounded when their helicopter made a "hard landing" south of Kirkuk thanks to mechanical failure. A British soldier was killed and a second wounded during separate attacks in Basra.

At Amaryit al Fallujuh, Iraqi forces killed 80 militants and arrested 50 more. Afghans and Arabs were among the dead. The clashes were in response to an attack on the village by militia.

In Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed one person and wounded four others near Beirut Square. One man was killed and another kidnapped at gunpoint in Sadr City. Two policemen were injured when a bomb was tossed from a vehicle towards their patrol. Ten bodies were recovered in Baghdad on Wednesday and 15 more today. A member of parliament survived an assassination attempt. In the evening, a series of explosions rocked the Doura neighborhood; military authorities said it was part of an anti-militia offensive.

Lost Opportunities: Bush Defense Spending is Misplaced

 

AS OF 2004

Iraq War Topping $5.8 Billion A Month (click on)
United Press International
November 18, 2004

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is spending more than $5.8 billion a month on the war in Iraq, according to the military's top generals.

That is nearly a 50 percent increase above the $4 billion-a-month benchmark the Pentagon has used to estimate the cost of the war so far.

The Army alone is spending $4.7 million a month while the Air Force is spending $800 million a month transporting soldiers and flying combat missions. The Marine Corps is spending $300 million a month, the four service chiefs told the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday.

Since 2003, the Pentagon has received some $160 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in supplemental funding -- that is, in addition to its annual budget. It will be requesting another multibillion-dollar supplement early next year to cover the continuing cost of the war.

Dragon Skin Body Armor, reserved for the military elite and high profile SWAT teams

 

Pentagon Study Links Fatalities to Body Armor (click on)

A secret Pentagon study has found that as many as 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had had extra body armor. Such armor has been available since 2003, but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials.

The ceramic plates in vests now worn by the majority of troops in Iraq cover only some of the chest and back. In at least 74 of the 93 fatal wounds that were analyzed in the Pentagon study of marines from March 2003 through June 2005, bullets and shrapnel struck the marines' shoulders, sides or areas of the torso where the plates do not reach.

Thirty-one of the deadly wounds struck the chest or back so close to the plates that simply enlarging the existing shields "would have had the potential to alter the fatal outcome," according to the study, which was obtained by The New York Times.


Inferior body armor for American soldiers

An article on how and why American soldiers do not have the best possible armor:

When O'Brien welcomed Second Chance into its burgeoning company Sept. 2 he neglected to mention that Second Chance was desperately in need of a second chance because the company and its former officers are currently under investigation by the Justice Department for fraud for knowingly selling body armor that can't stop bullets from killing its wearers.

Prosecutors in Washington presented evidence September 25, 2005 showing that Second Chance was alerted as early as 1998 by the Japanese material maker Toyobo Co., that there were problems with a material called Zylon, that primary component of Second Chance's "bullet-proof" vests. Toyobo sold the material to Second Chance. Toyobo officials told Second Chance scientists that the protective properties of Zylon deteriorated under certain conditions. The problems came to light the same year after a California police officer was shot and killed while wearing a Second Chance vest, court records show.


U.S. Troops in Iraq Have Limited Body Armor (click on)

WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense has provided thousands of top-of-the-line protective vests to coalition forces on the ground while some U.S. troops in Iraq have been asked to take their chances with inferior flak jackets, sources told Foxnews.com.

The American military has certified the use of body armor that can stop rounds from a Kalashnikov rifle, a 9-millimeter handgun and fragments from a grenade. The material used is lightweight and not too restrictive. So far, more than two dozen soldiers in Afghanistan credit the vests with saving their lives.

The only problem with the life-saving equipment is getting hold of it.

Congress has allocated funds for all U.S. troops to wear 16-pound, ceramic-plated Interceptor body armor (search), but as many as 51,000 American soldiers and civilian administrators in Iraq have not yet been equipped with the gear, and have been asking friends and families at home to purchase and send them off-the-shelf models for protection.


Many Missteps Tied to Delay Of Armor to Protect Soldiers (click on)

By Michael Moss

The war in Iraq was hardly a month old in April 2003 when an Army general in charge of equipping soldiers with protective gear threw the brakes on buying bulletproof vests.

The general, Richard A. Cody, who led a Pentagon group called the Army Strategic Planning Board, had been told by supply chiefs that the combat troops already had all the armor they needed, according to Army officials and records from the board's meetings. Some 50,000 other American soldiers, who were not on the front lines of battle, could do without.

In the following weeks, as Iraqi snipers and suicide bombers stepped up deadly attacks, often directed at those very soldiers behind the front lines, General Cody realized the Army's mistake and did an about-face. On May 15, 2003, he ordered the budget office to buy all the bulletproof vests it could, according to an Army report. He would give one to every soldier, ''regardless of duty position.''

But the delays were only beginning. The initial misstep, as well as other previously undisclosed problems, show that the Pentagon's difficulties in shielding troops and their vehicles with armor have been far more extensive and intractable than officials have acknowledged, according to government officials, contractors and Defense Department records.

"If you support the troops, you support the mission." Bush did neither

 

This is an actual picture of a Humvee in Iraq.

The Commander and Chief of the United States of American military neither cared about the well being of the troops or the mission they were sent to fight.

 

It's Saturday Night in 'my crib.'

That was an expression of a place one lived before people forgot how to be romantic. Frequently in the '60s, the place one lived was called 'my crib.'

"Welcome to my crib."

During a time of woman's liberation, the 'crib' was not necessarily affiliated with an infant or the conception of one, but, more that intimate feeling one acquires about bed and it's playground.

"Under the Armor" by Dakkar Productions

Drakkar - Under The Armor Lyrics
See him shining red and gold, rocket boots to make him fly
To defend the innocents dedicates his life
Evil ones all around, till he crush 'em to the ground
An avenger made of steel, he's the Iron Man

He's invincible
Man-machine for war

Under the armor you know there's a man
His greatest weapon his brain
Fightin' with weapons he did by himself
No one can stand in his way

He can be invisible, he has got repulsor rays
Honorable, strong and brave, technologic knight
Without fear he always fights for the justice and the peace
Armored and dangerous, he's the Iron Man

He's invincible
Man-machine for war

Under the armor you know there's a man
His greatest weapon his brain
Fightin' with weapons he did by himself
No one can stand in his way

See him shining red and gold, once again he flies around
He's in search of criminals, nowhere they can hide
Hearing his metallic voice, they will sweat and tremble with
fear
Knowing they cannot escape from the Iron Man

He's invincible
Man-machine for war

Under the armor you know there's a man
His greatest weapon his brain
Fightin' with weapons he did by himself
No one can stand in his way

S Korea drafts troops to fight 100-year drought

 

This is Kalgol Reservor at Sunchon City during the drought. This is actually South Pyongang Province, North Korea. Many South Koreans still have relatives living in North Korea. It would seem the good General Secretary is more interested in uniting these two country's people than killing any of them (click on).

Just one more note on the moronity of Walker Bush and his aspirations for war rather than peace.

This is the 'type' of Neocon South Korea spawns. General Secretary Ban Ki Moon is profoundly worried about Earth and it's sustainability for the populations of people on this globe. He has a country of origin that profoundly understands the dynamics of Climate Change and how real death from it can be.

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea has drafted its army and navy for the first time ever to help farmers fight the country's worst drought in 100 years.

As well as Korea, the drought has hit much of Northeast Asia including northern China and Mongolia.

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung on Tuesday called for drastic measures, appearing on television and urging the nation to conserve and recycle water.

An emergency committee, headed by the prime minister, has been tasked to deal with the drought, Kim added.

In China, officials are also urging measures to conserve water to deal with what they have called the worst drought in decades.

More than 20 million hectares of China's farmlands in six provinces have been affected, as of the end of May, with about 16 million people facing a water shortage.

In the past three months South Korea has received only about 30 percent of the average rainfall it usually gets during the crucial spring planting season, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.

Korea's rainy season, characterized by flooding, is due to begin at the end of June.

Chronically hungry North Korea is expected to suffer massive food shortages this year, after it suffered its most severe drought in more than 80 years, aid workers said.

Relief measures
This week, South Korea mobilized 130,000 troops -- one-fifth of its total military force -- to help farmers fight the prolonged drought that is threatening this year's rice harvest.

Rice is a staple food in Korea.

The troops were sent to 90 hard-hit regions with drilling machines, trucks, excavators and pumping motors to dig wells or draw water from reservoirs.

For two days, Oh's 9th Infantry Division soldiers, who usually guard part of the tense western border with communist North Korea, used trucks to carry 240,000 liters (62,400 gallons) of water from a reservoir to rice paddies near Koyang, 25 kilometers (16 miles) North of Seoul.

Money for relief
The government has already allocated 152.9 billion won ($118.5 million) from the disaster budget to deal with the drought.

Farming areas hit with severe crop damage would get tax relief and loans, as well as education fees for farmers with children.

The Korean Association of Volunteer Centers said its 900,000 members would launch water conservation campaigns.

Kmi urged citizens to show the same spirit they displayed during a nationwide gold collection campaign in 1998.

At that time, the government asked the public to exchange gold for Korean currency to help overcome a foreign exchange crisis.

"As we weathered the storm during the financial crisis, I believe we can do the same in facing the hardships from the drought," Kim said.

The USA makes an insufficient effort

 

The Changing of the Guard

Former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan and the new Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon.

A lot of interesting things have occurred since the new Secretary General Ki Moon took leadership at the United Nations. The USA admitted it was grossly wrong on the capacities of North Korea to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons lending more and more to the fact, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney have lied in propaganda rhetoric to enhance confrontation leading to war.

I take it that the new Secretary General is not a Neocon as Bush had anticipated and hoped for when promoting this nomination. I sincerely think, George Walker Bush was hoping Ban Ki Moon would be a hawk to end all understanding of war hawk simply because he was disgusted with North Korea. This is a very interesting 'change of fortune for Mr. Bush.' Well done on the part Secretary General Ki Moon. I guess he is sincerely interested in peace over war after all.

Then there was the surprise assignment of the USA taking the lead on Human Induced Global Warming.

So.

Let's see what do I discuss tonight?

Hm.

This is the satellite where I'll make my educational stand. The link is the current 12 hour loop

 

March 3, 2007

0400 z

GOES Hemispheric satellite compliments of UNISYS.

Thank you, UNISYS.

A few points of reference.

l. In examining this satellite view along with the two below of GOES East and GOES West, there is one thing absent in this view.

Know what it is?

'The curve of the Earth.'

Very important. Very. Okay. Now.

2. The longitude and latitudes of Earth (click on). In particular, considering also 'the curve of the Earth is Latitude 30 North noted in that link. More important than 'just' 30 degrees North are the latitudes 34 to 36 to 38 degrees North. THAT area of the Northern Hemisphere which encircles the globe is a 'boundary area.

The tropospheric boundaries are provided by 'prevailing winds.' (click on) Those prevailing winds are provided my some geophysics of Earth. If Earth did not 'spin' on it's axis it would not have winds. So, to understand greater aspects of Geophysics such as Coriolis is to appreciate the brevity of Earth's winds. No winds, no weather, no rain. You want to talk about a hostile climate? Well, that's another discussion.

Don't know what the Coriolis effect is? Look it up. You're on the net. Be smart. Use the tools available to you. They 'ain't' everything, but, they are a very good start to answer questions that lead to more questions that lead to some library somewhere and more investigation for those that care to.

Okay. Now.

3. Realizing the importance of the curve of Earth and it's contribution to 'buffeting' air into winds and currents is to realize there is a 'lethargy' of Earth's troposphere to change. Benevolence. Earth is the most benevolent planet in the Milky Way Gallaxy. Consistent, based in geophysics. Unchanging in longevity of benevolence.

So, when circumstances of Earth change that very nature of consistent benevolence it MUST BE significant in it's impact. Right? What does it take to change the position of a pen lying on a table to one lying on the floor? Force. A vector force. Those physics are very powerful. They change the very nature of a pen in it's location. In the case of a pen falling to the floor from a table that vector force is gravity. Powerful. It is a benevolent vector force of Earth.

Now.

To discuss the events of March 2, 2007 (click on) in respect to the deaths we need to realize the event was 'nurtured' through 'normally' benevolent/natural forces of Earth altered by high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the troposphere deposited by the USA and it's gluttonous economic indulgences in transportation and energy sectors. Nurtured from the point of view that the USA is emitting the highest concentrations of carbon dioxide of Earth. Not only that but we have witnessed clear 'plans/agendas' to continue these emissions and also increase them. The government of the USA lacks benevolence towards it's citizens and the populous of Earth.

Now. About March 2, 2007.

The air patterns before the sun rose on March 2, 2007 were mostly circulating in vortex over the Arctic Ocean waters with contibuting vortices of the Arctic Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation permanently acting in their roles of Human Induced Global Warming.

Example of the 'sun rise' over the Eastern Pacific.(click on)

The 'equinox' whereby the sunlight of Sol passes over the Equator from the Southern hemisphere of Earth to the northern hemisphere of Earth will occur soon. It's called the beginning of Spring in the Northern hemisphere and the beginning of Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. In realizing the curve of Earth and the traversing sunlight of Sol is to realize the 'centrally concentrated' rays of Sol passes at angles to Earth on it's axis. If one were to draw a straight line between Sol and the angle of those rays in relation to Earth one would realize the most centrally concentrated rays would be over the East Pacific on sunrise on March 2, 2007.

This now gets a little more 'concentrated' in presistence. In looking at the picture above of the Water Vapor Hemispheric Satellite I want those seeking to understand my point of view to find a 'line' of clouds that run from the left side to the right at about the latitude 36 North. That 'line' would be at the Mason Dixon Line starting in the Eastern USA at the North Carolina northern border and extending across the country.

All those clouds currently below that line 'occur' and are not 'a permanent' aspect of the Arctic Ocean Vortex. It is clear they 'occur' because they extend to the Equator and are rarely there persistently on any one day. All clouds above the 36 North designation are always there in water vapor but not necessarily in 'weather related clouds.'

Upon sunrise, the 'heat' from Sol's rays warmed areas in the Eastern Pacific 'preloaded' with latent heat from vaporizing waters. The added heat pushed the existing 'water vapor heat load' over the top of it's ability to remain 'calm' in it's latitude to a mass of superhot air. Now, superhot does not mean anything close to 'boiling,' it simply means it's the point where 'heat/calories' turns into massive water vapor movement.

With the understanding there was a huge heat driven system spawning in the Eastern Pacific nearer the equator than further from it, was to realize it was going to move. The heat was so strong that if there was a film loop of that event here, I would be able to point to two small and short lived hurricane systems at the very western edge of that system. They dissipated quickly.

Realizing how and where air masses move in the form of wind on Earth; which direction was this massive hot air in the Eastern Pacific going to move?

Right. To the east and north as noted even today in satellite, but, not because of 'prevailing trade winds' but a much different and more powerful 'geophysics' exclusively spawned under thick carbon dioxide layers. A supercell. A vortex so powerful that it can pull the air mass north and east in a velocity unnatural to Earth's benevolent troposphere.

To know the 'supercell/vortex' was anticipated is to realize it would have to spawn. Begin. It would not 'assist' that massive heat displacement immediately. The physics of the circumstances on Earth would have to accommodate the heat displacement and true to form it did.

At the beginning of the vortex formation the 'heat calories' of the Pacific system would not move in the velocity it would later as the 'supercell' took up the movement to the Arctic Circle. Yet. The heat calories would be consistent in their location with movement in a small area.

How does that interpret in 'real weather' events?

If one took a circulating hot air mass and made it into weather systems how many could one have?

Many.

Some are as benevolent as a spring drizzle spawning a rainbow all the way to a tornado with precursor hail. If one ran an experiment on what type of 'weather event' would occur with a 'fixed' amount of water vapor and heat, the ONE delineating factor in the intensity of the event would depend on 'surface area.' Greater surface area the less turbulent the event. So to concentrate a massive heat event at the end of a developing vortex is to realize the 'latent' system would cause intense movement of that air.

As the heat moved across land from sea, the heat increased as it no longer had a cooler ocean to 'buffer' the intensity of the heat. As that occurred the northern supercell was 'amassing' into an all too familiar vorticity that would carry the heat intensity from the Equator to the Arctic Ocean. As the 'drag' on the system continued there was a massive movement into small intense vorticities called tornadoes.

Those tornadoes are what caused the deaths in the Southern USA and Missouri. It would not be any different. This was the way the 'Eastern Pacific System' would find it's intensity until the northern votex now nearing the Great Lakes grew in formation and hence intensity.

As the intensity of the northern vorticity grew there was also an increase in the velocity of the system moving toward the Arctic Circle. Once the velocity of the northern vortex exceeded the 'potential' for tornadoes (the velocity increases the surface area of the heat mass) the system would be more benevolent and less 'tornadic.'

As I stood in open spaces observing the system as it moved across the coastal plain of North Carolina there was a warning that came from "The Federal Emergency Notification/Management System." It dominated the radiowaves. It clearly stated there was a tornado watch for specific areas of the coastal areas of North Carolina. Now, by coastal I refer to the waters offshore as well as 100 miles inland from the coast. These were the areas under 'the watch.'

It was correct to issue it, but, in standing in the middle of this mess I realized the upper tropospheric winds spawned by the ever increasing and competent northern vortex would provide higher velocity to the system that would not allow the 'touch down' of any tornadic events. The 'danger' to human life was over and all that was left was more demise to the ice formations of Earth.

The event exhibited many variables in wind, rain and cloud formations. This due to the ever increasing northern vortex and it's velocity. The air masse was 'taking shape' and in doing so there were areas of intense wind and rain while other areas were left almost stagnant without percipitation.

These are dangerous systems that should never be taken lightly.

I have observed Human Induced Global Warming for many years now. I have YET to see it diminish. Every year. Every season of the year. The intensity increases.

The United States of American needs to aggressively reverse it's economic trends that lead to these events. Leadership such as exists in the Executive Branch today don't 'cut it.' They WANT the warming to 'lay bare' the areas of the Arctic Circle with oil gluts.

We have to stop this. People are dying.

GOES East Water Vapor Satellite compliments of UNISYS. The link is to the current 12 hour loop

 

March 3, 2007

0400 z

GOES East Water Vapor Satellite

LOOK AT THAT MONSTER. Jeeze. Okay. So, how does a monster get to be a monster? Born a monster? Nah. This is a pure example of NURTURE over nature. The nature of Earth is benevolent. Sure there are a lot of aspects of Earth that are turbulent and scary, but, none that don't dicatate 'the continuance' of Earth's rich biotic content, spawning life and believing in it's persistence.

The monster in this particulare circumstances was 'nurtured' under the thick layer of carbon dioxide that the USA is PERSISTENTLY producing in the face of global opposition to same.

From the New York Times ::

U.S. Predicting Steady Increase for Emissions (click on)

The new report has been bogged down for nearly two years. In April 2005, the State Department published a notice in the Federal Register saying it would be released for public comment that summer.

Several government officials and scientists involved with preparing or reviewing parts of the report said that the recent departures of several senior staff members running the administration’s climate research program delayed its completion and no replacements have been named. The delays in finishing the report come even as Mr. Bush has elevated global warming higher on his list of concerns. This year, for the first time since he took office in 2001, he touched on “global climate change” in the State of the Union Message, calling it a “serious challenge.”

The draft report contains fresh projections of significant effects of human-caused warming on the environment and resources of the United States and emphasized the need to increase the country’s capacity to adapt to impending changes.

Drought, particularly, will become a persistent threat, it said: “Warmer temperatures expected with increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are expected to exacerbate present drought risks in the United States by increasing the rate of evaporation.” (evaporation/vaporization/sublimination - depends on the 'water type' one is discussing.)

Deadly storms, tornadoes ravage US

A VIOLENT storm system that ripped apart an Alabama high school as students hunkered inside later tore through Georgia, hitting a hospital and raising the death toll to at least 20 across the Midwest and south-eastern United States.

Eight students were killed when a tornado struck Enterprise High School on Thursday, blowing out the walls and collapsing part of the roof, Mayor Kenneth Boswell said yesterday.

"They were all in one wing of the school that took a direct hit," he said.

"Within a split second of sitting down and starting to cover ourselves the storm hit," said Kira Simpson, 17, who lost four friends to the storm.

As the massive storm system swept into Georgia on Friday, another tornado apparently touched down 190 kilometres south of Atlanta, killing at least two people and injuring an undetermined number of others.

At least 42 patients were evacuated to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Georgia.

Six more people, including a child, were killed in the town of Newton, Georgia, where several homes were destroyed, fire chief Andy Belinc said.

The burst of tornadoes was part of a larger line of thunderstorms and snowstorms that stretched from Minnesota in the northern Midwest to the Gulf Coast.

Authorities blamed tornadoes for the deaths of a seven-year-old girl in Missouri, 10 people in Alabama and nine in Georgia, and twisters also damaged homes in Kansas.

President George Bush was making plans to visit today areas hit by the violent storm system.

In all, the National Weather Service received 31 reports of tornadoes last Thursday from Missouri, Illinois, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, as well as a report on Friday of a waterspout near Cartaret, North Carolina.

AP

I always hope to get folks to understand the dangers of Human Induced Global Warming. Let's keep at 'it.' The link is the current 12 hour loop

 

March 3, 2007

0400 z

GOES West Water Vapor Satellite compliments of UNISYS

This is a later picture of the circumstances I'll discuss here. It doesn't matter. The pictures serve the purpose.

The 'actual' satellites I was looking when I made the conclusions here were unavailable to me when I finally came in from 'the weather' to write this entry.

The storm that killed at least 20 known victims actually started in the East Pacific. It began when the sun rose on that area of the Pacific while 'traversing' north. The 'angle' of the sun at that particular time was no different than the 'angle' of the sun any other year of Earth's existance. The difference this time is that the continuing building of Greenhouse Gases in the troposphere "increased the opportunity" for this event.

More tomorrow...

...until then...

...liberals...we were...we are...we always will be...we live in majority throughout the world...not...just...the usa

 

The liberals of the USA are under assault by a group of conservatives placed in 'power' of the USA to bring 'wealth' back to the war lobby. It shouldn't have happened and it needs to stop.

Currently, the Congress of the USA is approving monies to find a solution to IEDs in the Iraq War. It won't happen. The only way to combat any IED is to build better armor, such as titanium, and to equip our soldiers with it in the form of tanks and not Humvees.

Iraq is a war for wealth. Oil wealth and otherwise. Humvees are not tanks. They do not and have not provided the necessary protections our soldiers needed. The funding in DC for 'researching' IEDs is a pathetic path to take and "W"rongly put forward to placate those still in power in the Executive Branch.

We need to leave Iraq to the Iraqis and their goals to achieve peace through a tolerance policy and the continued movement toward partitioning that nation into three definable ethnic regions with their own treasuries, defendable borders and the militias to carry it out.

The issue of developing defenses against IEDs does not lie in 'in depth' research, it is in better and more effective tank design with the elimination of Humvees from the service of the USA military.

 

February 27, 2007

The Northern Hemisphere

The humidity of the northern hemisphere is more dense than the southern because of the evaporation and sublimination of the ice of the Arctic Ocean and The Greenland Ice.

 

Febrary 27, 2007

1326 gmt

The Southern Hemisphere

Larsen C Ice Shelf - this link is to the collapse of Larsen A and B

 

the future (click on)

Past assessments of ice-shelf stability have been based primarily on mean annual temperature. The importance of melt ponds indicates that mean summer temperature is a better guide. How do other ice shelves fare under this new criteria? The next shelf to the south, the Larsen C, is very near the stability limit, and may start to recede in coming decades if the observed warming trend continues. Ted Scambos and Mark Fahnestock are hard at work developing new data sets to extend the analysis farther.

WHILE 'taking in' the information at the link, realize the delicacy of which 'ice formations' exist. They are some of the most hostile climates on the planet but they are in minority/'the extremes.' In minority, one should realize the delicacy at which these extremes exist.

To realize ALSO the importance of ice shelves in 'protecting' the Antacrtica Ice Mass 'proper' is to realize the 'stability' these delicate ecosystems survive and hence insure the survival of the biotic Earth.

The Larsen Ice Shelves collapse wasn't just a matter of your favorite ice skating pond melting for the season to return later. This is a huge demise of a very important ice formation that contributes to Earth's biotic nature.

Animation of the collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf

 

Anchor ice of Cape Armitage off Ross Island in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

 

A lot of fuss about 'sea squirts.' Why?

 

Because Sea Squirts are Tunicates. Tunicates are members of the Phylum Cordata (click on).

Phylum Cordata includes mammals including humans. So, in some ways, finding 'sea squirts' in the waters of the demised ice shelves of Antarctica is like finding a family member to humans.

Exotic animals - in Antarctica (click on)

Washington - Spindly orange sea stars, fan-finned ice fish and herds of roving sea cucumbers are among the exotic creatures spied off the Antarctic coast in an area formerly covered by ice, scientists have reported..

This is the first time explorers have been able to catalogue wildlife where two mammoth ice shelves used to extend for some 10 000 square kilometres over the Weddell Sea.

At least 5 000 years old, the ice shelves collapsed in two stages over the last dozen years. One crumbled 12 years ago and the other followed in 2002.

Global warming is seen as the culprit behind the ice shelves' demise, said Gauthier Chapelle of the Polar Foundation in Brussels.

"These kind of collapses are expected to happen more," he said. "What we're observing here is probably going to happen elsewhere around Antarctica."


ALSO REALIZE, the biotic environment these species thrived under is gone. The Larson Ice Shelves are destroyed by Human Induced Global Warming. That means these very species are endangered by the fact their supportive ecosystem is destroyed. One of the understandings of major USA legislation that seeks to protect them is The Endangered Species Act (click on).

Although I site the link here, does mean I endorse the link. The USA under Bush has been covertly undermining the authority of the acts for six years now and who knows what they may have done to them.

But, that say, realize this 'cornerstone' legislation REQUIRES identifying all species that face endangerment of extinction. Now, that the Larsen Ice Sheet has collapsed, along with it, collapses the ecosystem that supported these species. All the species now readily accessible to scientists have to be identified and protections rendered.

These species were in 'majority' known to scientists. They knew there was a lot of life under the ice. Anchor ice of Antarctica (which I will not above this entry.) carries alot of life within it and surrounding it. There is a phenomena knows as Ice Rafting (click on) which is clearly illustrated in this link; that would allow folks to understand that creatures living under the Larsen Ice Shelves also migrated. Not necessarily by 'intent' but by 'opportunity.' Many of these life forms could be found 'a drift' in the Falkland Islands and the islands surrounding Antarctica. Some of the species, I think it is about 25% are newly classified and are 'resident' to those waters below Larsen B.

So, although all these 'finds' are very, very interesting. The mission of the scientists are more a survival mission than one of fascination.

TO TAKE THIS ONE STEP FURTHER. "Stay tuned"

Huge polar study ready to begin (click on)

The largest polar research programme for 50 years gets under way this week.

International Polar Year (IPY) will see thousands of scientists, from more than 60 nations, working together on 220 projects at high latitudes.

Scientists hope to improve their understanding of how changes to the polar regions affect the planet.

IPY will be officially launched in Paris on 1 March, but the UK's programme, involving 65 institutions, was unveiled on Monday in London.

IPY actually runs for two years in order to allow equal coverage of both the Arctic and the Antarctic.

It is organised by the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

THIS IS AS MUCH about 'documenting' than any aspect that is science. It might also be noted, there are certain 'molecules' ALREADY found in Antarctica waters that may prove to fight cancers. So this is no small venture.