Recap

Fire & Ice

During Saturday night's show, researcher Robert Felix (iceagenow.com) declared that another ice age is on the way, and it could begin very soon.

Felix believes underwater volcanoes heating the ocean play a crucial role in the ice age. He cited a recent expedition to Gakkel ridge in which scientists discovered an unusual amount of hydrothermal activity in the depths of the Arctic Ocean (see article below). He also said that the oceans have warmed by 2-3 degrees since the 1950s. The warmer water, according to Felix, increases the rate at which the oceans evaporate, which in turn increases the amount of moisture in the air. If global temperatures were cold enough, massive amounts of snow could fall around the world.

Continuing his senario, Felix warned that Yellowstone is preparing to explode -- a massive volcanic eruption there could lower the temperature of the entire planet. He said scientists theorize that lava from Yellowstone could shoot up to 30 miles into the sky and kill everyone within a 600 mile radius. The ash produced from such an eruption would fill the atmosphere and drop global temperatures by 20 degrees, he concluded.

Unfortunately, Felix doesn't think we can do much about our situation, and worries that nations will be fighting each other for food and resources long before the ice age is in full swing.

Related Articles

Heating the Arctic

During a recent (2003) research expedition to Gakkel ridge, a chain of volcanic mountains submerged in the Arctic Ocean, German and American scientists discovered surprisingly strong hydrothermal activity. The researchers had expected to find the ridge "hydrothermally dead," however instrument readings from the area showed much activity, including an active hot spring on the ocean floor. Robert Felix believes such underwater volcanic activity is heating the seas and instigating climate change.

For more info read The Fiery Face of the Arctic Deep.

Photo of ice breaker and research ships: Henry Dick, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/NSF.

I'm Melting! I'm Melting!

A recent NASA study predicts the Arctic Ocean will lose all perennial ice by the end of this century. Such an occurrence will have devastating impact on the Arctic region and start in motion a process that will change the climate dramatically.

View animation of extent of Arctic ice melt over the last decade.