Comments on: A rising tide lifts Iceland — literally

A rising tide lifts Iceland — literally

Michele in California — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:12:28 -0800

A rising tide lifts Iceland — literally A team of geoscientists has detected evidence that Iceland is literally rising along with sea levels.

See also: Iceland's Earth Rising Up As Glaciers Shrink, Will Volcanic Activity Increase As Well?

By: aubilenon

aubilenon — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:48:20 -0800

I remember learning about glacial isostatic adjustment in some class I took years ago. Apparently the northern Midwest is still rising after the glaciation of the previous ice age!

By: Chocolate Pickle

Chocolate Pickle — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:59:44 -0800

Oh, dear. Next, Guam!

By: Chocolate Pickle

Chocolate Pickle — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 17:00:31 -0800

By the way, I think it more likely that it is vulcanism that is making Iceland rise.

By: Mr. Yuck

Mr. Yuck — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 17:14:41 -0800

Maybe they won't drink so much now that they are getting high.

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 17:28:02 -0800

Bah. A bunch of global warming apologists don't want to admit the sea level is dropping.

By: ChurchHatesTucker

ChurchHatesTucker — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 17:41:26 -0800

It's from shedding all that debt.

By: Wretch729

Wretch729 — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 17:57:09 -0800

Huh, neat. Wonder if this effect is being observed anywhere else?

By: sneebler

sneebler — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 18:08:30 -0800

Across the Canadian Arctic...

By: quiet earth

quiet earth — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 18:17:29 -0800

For over a decade I've seriously considered moving to Iceland, but this is a little bit worrying: Bennett said evidence exists that 12,000 years ago, when glaciers experienced accelerated melting, volcanic activity increased 30-fold.

By: aubilenon

aubilenon — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 18:23:18 -0800

Huh, neat. Wonder if this effect is being observed anywhere else? Yes, Scotland, Sweden, and northern North America have been rising relative to the sea for a long time. About 150 years ago, a Scottish scientist, Thomas Jamieson, figured out the reason was that it was bouncing back from glaciers 12000 years earlier. I'd love to hear how this has been changing over the last few centuries. That might shed some insight on how much of this is the melting of modern glaciers, how much is residual effects from the ice age, when Iceland and everything nearby were covered by the polar ice sheet, and how much is the vulcanism that created Iceland in the first place. The recent acceleration is certainly interesting though.

By: Windigo

Windigo — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 18:52:51 -0800

Of course Iceland is, the whole damn place is just that magical.

By: localroger

localroger — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 19:41:34 -0800

Yes the Earth's crust is literally floating on liquid rock. You want to see some isostatic rebound though wait until we manage to melt Antarctica. I once wrote a few short stories featuring that in which the end result was human extinction. Fortunately we had created superintelligent robots that brought us back. Haven't found where that trope is in the soft SF thread.

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 19:47:10 -0800

I blame Kattullus. He's usually a good lad, but a bit of a scamp.

By: If only I had a penguin...

If only I had a penguin... — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 05:06:33 -0800

It's from shedding all that debt. Don't be ridiculous. Debt floats.

By: Joe in Australia

Joe in Australia — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 05:55:15 -0800

By the way, I think it more likely that it is vulcanism that is making Iceland rise. Icelanders are depressed, not repressed, and I don't think they're especially into Star Trek.

By: JoeXIII007

JoeXIII007 — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 07:07:04 -0800

I remember learning about glacial isostatic adjustment in some class I took years ago. Apparently the northern Midwest is still rising after the glaciation of the previous ice age! Because of that, we have to adjust the "reference system to define [Great Lakes] water levels" (PDF). It's pretty amazing stuff. When you pay attention to small details you realize the Earth really breathes and is actually quite fluid, just really really slow fluid.

By: acb

acb — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 07:25:05 -0800

When you pay attention to small details you realize the Earth really breathes and is actually quite fluid, just really really slow fluid. It's the gooey ~~caramel~~ molten rock centre.

By: mule98J

mule98J — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 10:34:36 -0800

It floats? Can they put a sail on it? Just wondering.

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 00:46:15 -0800

It would continue the trend of things that are bad for everywhere else being good for Iceland (e.g. World War II) but, on the other hand, the Gulf Stream might shut down with decreasing ocean salinity, in which case, eponysterically, Iceland would end up covered by glacier while global temperatures would be rising.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 13:55:52 -0800

This sounds like elf magic to me.