![]() |
![]() |
#1 (permalink) |
Darth Papa
Location: Yonder
|
Where is all the WATER?
So, I'm confused about the state of the environment. This isn't a Global Warming thread, or at least, not directly. It's more a Conservation of Mass thread.
Everywhere I hear about is under severe drought. Here in the Southeast, we've had a very unusually dry year. The technical term for our drought level is "exceptional", which is one step past "extreme". I know it's that way in the Midwest and Southwest too. Today I read about Australia, which has been in severe drought for six years. Seems like everywhere you hear about the weather, there's drought. Now, I've always understood that the water cycle is Earthbound--that no water ever LEAVES our planet. So the question is: Where IS all the water? Have ocean levels risen enough to account for the missing H2O? Are there places that are having floods and monsoons? Have aliens abducted our agua? What's going ON here? |
![]() |
![]() |
#2 (permalink) |
Tilted
Location: St. Louis
|
According to this it seems that climate change is causing less precipitation in subtropical areas (U.S., Australia, etc.) and more precipitation in equatorial tropical areas. This is a trend that is expected to continue.
Wikipedia rocks my face. |
![]() |
![]() |
#4 (permalink) |
warrior bodhisattva
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
|
It has been noted that the levels of the Great Lakes is dropping.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot |
![]() |
![]() |
#5 (permalink) |
“Wrong is right.”
Location: toronto
|
Judging by the taste lately, you'd think it was in the drinks at the local pub... hey-ooooo!
Sorry.
__________________
!check out my new blog! http://arkanamusic.wordpress.com Warden Gentiles: "It? Perfectly innocent. But I can see how, if our roles were reversed, I might have you beaten with a pillowcase full of batteries." |
![]() |
![]() |
#6 (permalink) |
warrior bodhisattva
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
|
Wocka, wocka, wocka!
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot |
![]() |
![]() |
#7 (permalink) |
Upright
Location: Australia
|
It is the same old story, some countries have too much, and others have too little.
Wouldn't surprise me if there is a war over water at some stage. Here in Australia we have already had countless assaults and at least one murder, because someone was watering their garden. It will only get tougher. For now at least. |
![]() |
![]() |
#8 (permalink) |
Getting it.
Super Moderator
Location: Lion City
|
It is only a matter of time before someone invades Canada for its water and oil...
Oh right, we already sold out for the oil... how long before we make the same bone-headed move with our water?
__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke |
![]() |
![]() |
#9 (permalink) |
Deja Moo
Location: Olympic Peninsula, WA
|
You can find all the missing water in Washington and Oregon, where it all fell within two days last week. We're still digging out of the mess.
![]()
__________________
"You can't ignore politics, no matter how much you'd like to." Molly Ivins - 1944-2007 |
![]() |
![]() |
#10 (permalink) | |
Kick Ass Kunoichi
Location: Oregon
|
Quote:
It's not as bad as it was two years ago, when we had a similar storm, with similar flooding issues. My town became an island during that storm. We got off easy this time, but I have a feeling that it's really just the beginning of something far worse. What will really suck is if another big storm comes through while everything is still soggy. The wind will uproot the trees and the additional rains will cause flooding. Heck, even some mild weather today (mild by comparison to last week, which closed I-5) caused a mud slide that closed one of the main highways between Portland and the Oregon coast. Right now it's dry and cold, but all that's doing is keeping the water in the ground, frozen. When it warms up and starts raining again, that water will still be there, and the new water will have nowhere to go. We will likely lose power if a bad windstorm comes through because of the trees being in soggy ground. I'm not looking forward to the coming weeks, weather-wise. It does not look good. I wish I could send some to the Southeast, really I do.
__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#11 (permalink) | |
Misanthropic
Location: Ohio! yay!
|
Quote:
We need to take over Canada asap. I want a free moose.
__________________
Crack, you and I are long overdue for a vicious bout of mansex. ~Halx |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#12 (permalink) | |
Devoted
Donor
Location: New England
|
Quote:
__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#14 (permalink) |
Evil Priest: The Devil Made Me Do It!
Location: Southern England
|
World warms up.
Air warms up. Water warms up. Warm water evaporates faster. Warm air holds more water vapour per cubic metre. Warm atmosphere makes wind velocities higher. Faster winds draw air flow towards the poles. Cold air near poles causes water to fall as precipitation. So - in essence, the water is up in the air, and can't fall on the tropics because it's falling near the poles - that's why the UK and northern Europe have had record floods, and some places have had record droughts.
__________________
╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air, And deep beneath the rolling waves, In labyrinths of Coral Caves, The Echo of a distant time Comes willowing across the sand; And everthing is Green and Submarine ╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝ |
![]() |
![]() |
#15 (permalink) | |
Pissing in the cornflakes
|
There was a time on this planet when humans did not exist in our current forms. We did not produce CO2, our animals did not produce CH4, and yet, things went through cycles of warming, cooling, icing over, and all that.
Perhaps the solution to the question would be to look at say Australia's history instead of anecdotal 'well its really wet here' and 'its been dry here' as somehow proof of climate changes. To this I turned to the powers of google, being I am not an Austrialian weather expert. This was the first result. http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/le...hc/drought.htm Quote:
Now every time it rains a bit more, it snows a bit less, it snows a bit more, it rains a bit less, its warm in October, is cold in June, someone mentions 'climate change' as a reason as if that said something valid. The climate does change, it always changes, as continents continue to drift, as volcanoes erupt or not, as solar energy reaches the earth or doesn't as eccentricities in the earths orbit tilts it slightly one way or another, the climate changes. Sometimes those changes are due to mundane 'nature' reasons and there is no reason to think that current droughts are any different than the past ones. From what I gather, there has been no real increase in sea level due to ice melt at this time.
__________________
Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps. Last edited by Ustwo; 12-14-2007 at 12:39 PM.. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#16 (permalink) | |
Darth Papa
Location: Yonder
|
Quote:
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#17 (permalink) | |
Pissing in the cornflakes
|
Quote:
__________________
Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#18 (permalink) | |
Darth Papa
Location: Yonder
|
Quote:
What I asked was: If the places you hear about are in drought, where's the water? What you answered was: Is there something unique about the drought we're hearing about? See the difference? |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#19 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: The Danforth
|
Quote:
SHHHH! don't remind them about our water.... |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#20 (permalink) | |
Pissing in the cornflakes
|
Quote:
__________________
Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#22 (permalink) | |
Upright
Location: Neverland.
|
Quote:
I would vote in favor of invading Canada if only to find Alan Thicke and nueter him so he never makes another Robin Thicke.
__________________
I saw this wino, he was eating grapes. I was like, "Dude, you have to wait." ~ Mitch Hedberg |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#23 (permalink) | |
Junkie
Location: Fort Worth, TX
|
Quote:
__________________
"Smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge, and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth." - Ashbel Smith as he laid the first cornerstone of the University of Texas |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#24 (permalink) | ||
The sky calls to us ...
Super Moderator
Location: CT
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
![]() |
![]() |
#26 (permalink) | |
Insane
Location: left coast
|
Quote:
Eventually, in billions of years, as the Sun gets brighter and heats up the Earth, more water vapor evaporates, which further heats up the Earth (water vapor is a greenhouse gas), and so on, and so on. This is a runaway greenhouse effect and would lead to the evaporation of the oceans. For now, though, whereever you have severe droughts somewhere, that would be balanced by severe precipitation elsewhere. Keep in mind that 70% of the Earth is ocean, there could be record rains somewhere that we just can't directly measure/observe. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#27 (permalink) | |
Functionally Appropriate
Location: Toronto
|
Quote:
__________________
Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life |
|
![]() |
Tags |
water |
|
|