LATEST EVIDENCE. Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier Ice Shelf Begins To Break Up (Ian Joughin, a glaciologist at the University of Washington in Seattle). Planet Earth may be at greater risk than ever before if global climate change proves to be a long-term threat. Two teams of scientists say the long-feared collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has begun, kicking off what they say will be a centuries-long, "unstoppable" process that could raise sea levels by as much as 4 m (15 ft). The glacier serves as a linchpin for the rest of the West Antarctic Ice sheet, which has enough frozen mass to cause another 10 to 13 feet (3 to 4 meters) of sea level rise. Many locations will have environments at higher risk as temperature increases and sea level rises, as hypothesized. Presentation courtesy of Dr. Walter Haye, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction

1. EVIDENCE OF PLANET EARTH’S FRAGILITY
27 May 2014

2. LATEST EVIDENCE
May 27, 2014
ANTARCTICA’S THWAITES GLACIER
ICE SHELF BEGINS TO BREAK UP
Ian Joughin, a glaciologist at the
University of Washington in Seattle

3. WEST ANTARCTICA:THWAITES
ICE SHELF IS BREAKING UP

4. THWAITES GLACIER
• Thwaites Glacier is losing
several meters (tens of feet) of
ice elevation every year.

5. WARNING
Planet Earth may be at greater
risk than ever before if global
climate change proves to be a
long-term threat

6. Source: SCIENCE, May 2014
• Two teams of scientists say the
long-feared collapse of the West
Antarctic Ice Sheet has begun,
kicking off what they say will be a
centuries-long, "unstoppable"
process that could raise sea levels
by as much as 4 m (15 ft).

7. Source: SCIENCE, May 2014
• They estimate that Thwaites
Glacier will probably disappear
entirely in somewhere between 200
and 1,000 years.
• That loss alone would raise global
sea level by nearly 2 feet (60
centimeters).

8. Source: SCIENCE, May 2014
• The glacier serves as a linchpin
for the rest of the West
Antarctic Ice sheet, which has
enough frozen mass to cause
another 10 to 13 feet (3 to 4
meters) of sea level rise.

9. IF PLANET EARTH
CONTINUES WARMING UP,
- - -
MANY LOCATIONS WILL HAVE
ENVIRONMENTS AT HIGHER RISK AS
TEMPERATURE INCREASES AND SEA
LEVEL RISES, AS HYPOTHESIZED

10. CITIES (PEOPLE, PROPERTY, AND INFRA-
STRUCTURE) MAY BE AT HIGHER RISK

11. IMPACT: NORTHEAST USA: 1
METER RISE IN SEA LEVEL

12. IMPACT:FLORIDA: 1 METER
RISE IN SEA LEVEL

13. IMPACT: LOUISIANA: 1 METER
RISE IN SEA LEVEL

14. MONITORING, MITIGATION,
AND ADAPTATION
MEASURES:
WAYS TO COPE WITH
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

15. CURRENT NEEDS
Planet Earth’s
changes in
exposure and risk
over time have
created a need for:
 Technology to
monitor global
climate change,
warn people, and
protect property,
and infrastructure.

16. EVIDENCE OF GLOBAL
WARMING CITED IN THE
PAST

17. KANAI FJORD, ALASKA

18. NORTHWEST TERRITORIES,
CANADA

19. GREENLAND

20. WENGEN, SWITZERLAND

21. MT KILIMANJARO, TANZANIA

22. GREAT BARRIER REEF,
AUSTRALIA

23. ANTARCTICA: WILKINS ICE
SHELF DISINTEGRATION

24. SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND

25. DALIAN, CHINA

26. Natural Phenomena that Change
our Environment
Planet Earth is
warming up, as
shown by:
Advance of
deserts

27. 1/6 OF WORLD’S POPULATIONS
AFFECTED BY DESERTIFICATION

28. Natural Phenomena that Change
our Environment
Planet Earth is
warming up,
causing:
Droughts

29. DROUGHT IN CHINA: 2007

30. Natural Phenomena that Change
our Environment
Planet Earth is
warming up,
which causes:
Rivers to dry
up.

31. COLORADO RIVER BASIN,
WESTERN USA

32. LOS ANGELES RIVER: SUMMER
2007
.

33. ELBE RIVER, GERMANY:
SUMMER, 2007