Signs of accelerating global warming: Antartic Shelf Hangs by thread

Antarctic shelf 'hangs by thread'
A chunk of ice the size of the Isle of Man has started to break away from Antarctica in what scientists say is further evidence of a warming climate.

Satellite images suggest that part of the ice shelf is disintegrating, and will soon crumble away.

The Wilkins Ice Shelf has been stable for most of the last century, but began retreating in the 1990s.

Six ice shelves in the same part of the continent have already been lost, says the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

Professor David Vaughan of BAS said: "Wilkins is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula yet to be threatened.

"I didn't expect to see things happen this quickly. The ice shelf is hanging by a thread - we'll know in the next few days or weeks what its fate will be."

'Like an explosion'

BAS researchers were alerted to the break-up by daily monitoring of satellite images. They sent a Twin Otter aircraft on a reconnaissance mission to video what was happening.

This is yet another indication of climate change in the Antarctic Peninsula and how it is affecting the environment

Jim Elliott, who was on board the plane, said he had never seen anything like it before.

He said: "We flew along the main crack and observed the sheer scale of movement from the breakage.

"Big hefty chunks of ice, the size of small houses, look as though they've been thrown around like rubble - it's like an explosion."

A 41-by-2.5km (25-by-1.6 mile) berg appears to be breaking away, with much of the Wilkins Ice Shelf protected only by a thin strip of ice spanning two islands.

Since an ice shelf is a floating platform of ice, the break-up will have no impact on sea level. But scientists say it heightens concerns over the impact of climate change on this part of Antarctica.

'Unprecedented' warming

Professor Vaughan predicted in 1993 that the northern part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf would be lost within 30 years if climate warming continued. But he said it is happening more quickly than he expected.


He told BBC News: "What we're actually seeing is a chunk of the ice shelf drop off in a way that suggests it is not just a normal part of iceberg formation.

"This is not a sea level rise issue, but is yet another indication of climate change in the Antarctic Peninsula and how it is affecting the environment."

Scientists say the Antarctic Peninsula, which juts out into the Southern Ocean towards the tip of South America, has experienced unprecedented warming over the last 50 years.

Several ice shelves have retreated in the past 30 years - six of them collapsing completely.

Other researchers believe the Wilkins Ice Shelf may hang on a little longer, as Antarctica's summer melt season draws to a close.

Dr Ted Scambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado said: "This unusual show is over for this season. But come January, we'll be watching to see if the Wilkins continues to fall apart."

January 15, 2008

March 15, 2008

Disintregration of Iceberg A53a

In April 2005, the A53a iceberg calved off the Larsen Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula and began drifting north. As it headed north, the iceberg encountered warmer temperatures and, nearly three years later, began to disintegrate. Observing such iceberg disintegration can help scientists studying Antarctica’s ice shelves better understand how those shelves change in response to warmer temperatures.

This pair of images was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on NASA’s Aqua (top) and Terra (bottom) satellites. The top image was captured on January 15, 2008; the bottom image was captured on March 15, 2008. High-resolution images show this event in more detail, on January 15, February 21, March 1, March 3, and March 15.

In the January 15 image, the iceberg remains intact, although isolated pale blue melt ponds appear on the surface. These melt ponds are more conspicuous in an astronaut photograph, providing a foreshortened view of the iceberg, also taken on January 15. Melt ponds on the surface of the iceberg suggest that the iceberg may be approaching disintegration. Melt ponds contribute to disintegration because water can fill preexisting cracks on the iceberg’s surface and eventually carve all the way through the ice.

The March 15 image shows the iceberg after it broke in two near South Georgia Island in the Southern Atlantic. This image covers a wider area than the top scene since the iceberg pieces have drifted apart. The iceberg in the east is in the process of further fragmentation, and both icebergs have shed giant slivers of ice. MODIS captured the iceberg beginning to disintegrate on March 3, appearing in two pieces that remained close together.

When an iceberg drifts northward and encounters warmer temperatures, it breaks apart much faster than it would if it remained near Antarctica. Within a few years or even months, the iceberg can undergo changes that might take decades along the Antarctic Peninsula. Although iceberg disintegration in warmer conditions occurs faster, the basic melt and disintegration process is the same.

Disclaimer:
NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. Caption by Michon Scott.

Is this a sign of acclerated global warming? Is it happening at a rate faster than what is expected? One whole chunck of ice jus break apart and begins is melting into the sea, desalinating the salty water. Rising ocean level, is it imminent with more ice melting? How safe are we on land?

Wildlife Conservation & Research in Malaysia: Volunteer & Work Opportunities by Dr. Melvin Terry Kumal

Swinburne Green Club, though not yet officially registered with Student Council has organized a talk entitled: Wildlife Conservation & Research in Malaysia: Volunteer & Work Opportunities.

Invited speaker for the talk is the Director for the Wildlife Conservation Society, Malaysia Program, Dr. Melvin Terry Gumal. The Society's site can be accessed at http://www.wcsmalaysia.org/ or http://www.wcs.org/

The talk really was an eye opener for me, especially in the field of orang utans. The sad thing is that, the talk was mostly attended by Foreign students, lecturers and staffs. Only a handful of local students turned up, which indicates the level of interest, awareness amongst locals are still at a very low level. Orang Utans belongs to Malaysia for God's sake..!Why are foreigners more interested and care more about them rather than the locals?? Is this the prove of the chinese proverd: " Live in an happy environment, but never know how to appreciate"??...

I really salute those environmentalist for the work passion they have towards conservation of nature and animals.! not everyone has their passion, even towards a comfortable office work. what more to say they need to trek for weeks in jungles.!.

Boring boring holidays....

Finally, managed to put market behaviour assignment in to pieces..thought to be very busy durint this weekend and holidays...but now it really feels to boring...sitting here dono wad to do or where to go....am i too used to busy life and once got free time, it feels so weird?...

A Mother's Day - Jim Brickman

A Mother's Day

Mom and Dad were reading in the den
Mom said, 'I'm gonna go to bed, it's late.'
She went to the kitchen to make three
School lunches another night in a mother's day.
Put the cereal bowls out for breakfast,
Set the coffee maker for 6:00am;
Sewed a loose button on brother's shirt for him;

Checked sister's math homework, sent a note to the teacher,
Added eggs to the grocery list;
Started a load of wash, made sure the doors were locked,
Put water in the puppy's dish;
Wrote a check to the children's piano teacher,
Turn the dishwasher on;
And Dad called out, 'Honey what's takin' you so long?'

Have I ever thanked you for everything you've done?
Now all that I can say is, 'I love you Mom.'

Hung some art on the refrigerator door and
Headed up the stairs;
Kissed all the children and helped Sister comb her
Wavy golden hair.
Washed her make-up off and turned on the bath;
Lay down in the moon soft light
And kissed dad goodnight.

Have I ever thanked you for everything you've done?
Now all that I can say is, 'I love you Mom.'

Thank you for nursing me through all those colds and fevers;
Thank you for believin' in me when they were no other believers.

And it's never too late to say, 'I love you Mom'

Many things had happened lately ups and downs, and its this strong family bond that keeps everyone close together....Stay strong mum, dad...

Weekend shots

Only the first picture is shot in Simunjan...a place of serenity, lush green padi fields and fresh air, free from city pollution. Sad thing is that I went there with a sad cause and the picture of the sunset was taken at Simunjan hospital..

Holocaust survivors mark Krakow ghetto anniversary

KRAKOW, Poland (Reuters) - Hundreds of Jews on Sunday marked the 65th anniversary of the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto with a march commemorating the German businessman whose efforts had saved Jews from the Holocaust.

Some 700 Jews from Poland, Israel and other countries marched from the site of the former ghetto to what had been a Nazi German labour camp in the suburb of Plaszow, many of whose inmates were employed by Oskar Schindler.


Holocaust survivor Edward Mosberg of the U.S. talks with participants of a march marking the 65th anniversary of the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto, in Krakow, March 16, 2008. (REUTERS/Forum/Piotr Tumidajski)
"Schindler was controversial, perhaps even a bit mad, but he was one of the few Germans who did such a thing," said 86-year-old Jan Dresner of Tel Aviv, one of some 30 marchers saved by the factory-owner.

"This is my first trip to Krakow since then, because I was afraid of those memories, but I felt it was my duty to come with my wife and daughter to tell about it."

Schindler, made famous by the 1993 Steven Spielberg film "Schindler's List", had used his influence with fellow-Nazis as well as bribes and forged documents to save more than one thousand Polish Jews.

After the occupying Germans had liquidated the ghetto in March 1943, gunning down those who resisted, they herded its survivors into the Plaszow labour camp.

"I saw the ghetto being liquidated," said Edward Mosberg of the U.S., now also in his 80s. "I saw hundreds of dead bodies strewn all about -- it was a total cataclysm."

"I have come to bear witness to those days, because the ranks of us survivors are growing extremely thin."

Niusia Horowitz-Karakulska of Krakow was only seven when the ghetto was liquidated, but she and 15 family members owed their survival to the German entrepreneur.

"Schindler was such a warm, magnificent person who had many problems of his own but felt human life must be saved," Hororowitz-Karakulska, 72, told Reuters.

Poland, which was invaded by Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia at the start of World War Two in September 1939, lost six million citizens in the war, half of them Jewish.

Up to 1.5 million perished at the notorious Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz, some 40 km (25 miles) west of Krakow.


Copyright © 2008 Reuters


The Jewish ghetto in Kraków (Cracow) was one of the five main ghettos created by the Nazis in the General Government, during their occupation of Poland during World War II. It was a staging point to begin dividing "able workers" from those who would later be deemed worthy of death. Before the war, Kraków was an influential cultural center for the 60,000-80,000 Jews that resided there.
Contents[hide]
1 History
2 Notable persons
3 See also
4 References
5 External links


History:

Persecution of the Jewish population of Kraków began soon after the Nazis occupied the city in September 1, 1939 during the Invasion of Poland. Jews were obliged to take part in forced labor (September 1939). In November 1939, all Jews 12 years or older were required to wear identifying armbands. Throughout Kraków, synagogues were ordered closed and all their relics and valuables turned over to the Nazi authorities.
By May 1940, the German occupation authority announced that Kraków should become the "cleanest" city in the General Government (occupied, but unannexed portions of Poland) and ordered a massive deportation of Jews from the city. Of the more than 68,000 Jews in Kraków when the Germans invaded, only 15,000 workers and their families were permitted to remain in the city. All other Jews were ordered out of the city, to be resettled in surrounding areas.
The Kraków ghetto was formally established on March 3, 1941. Because the ghetto was set up in the Podgórze district, not in the Jewish district of Kazimierz, displaced Polish families from the area took up residence in the former Jewish dwellings away from the ghetto. Before the creation of the ghetto, 3,000 people lived in the Podgórze district. This expanded initially to 15,000 Jews, all crammed into 30 streets, 320 residential buildings, and 3,167 rooms. As a result, one apartment was allocated to every four families, and many less fortunate lived on the street.
The ghetto was surrounded by walls that kept it isolated from the surrounding city. All windows and doors that gave onto the "Aryan" side were ordered bricked up, although four guarded entrances allowed traffic to pass through. In a grim foreshadowing of the near future, these walls contained panels in the shape of tombstones. Small sections of the wall remain today.
Young leftists of the Akiva youth movement, who had undertaken the publication of an underground newsletter, HeHaluc HaLohem ("The Fighting Pioneer"), joined forces with other Zionists to form a local branch of the Jewish Fighting Organization (ŻOB, Polish: Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa), and organize resistance in the ghetto, supported by the Polish underground Armia Krajowa. The group carried out a variety of resistance activities including the bombing of the Cyganeria cafe, a gathering place of Nazi officers. Unlike in Warsaw, their efforts did not lead to a general uprising before the ghetto was liquidated.

Assignment on C-350?

This the artefact i choose for my assignment....theory used? i guess it should be social class, demographic and lifestlyle and also reference group influence. Just hope i get it right.

The Collapse of Human nature; extinction of 'humane heartedness'

My days for the past week:

7/3/2008 :


Celebrated dad's birthday. This day was also the final push for parties, be it the governing or opposition, the voting day on the next day. After the celebration dinner, our whole family went off to join the DAP talk at Chong Lin. It was then dubbed the '10,000 audience talk' . By 9 something, cars are jammed from Jalan Tabuan up to Simpang Tiga flyover. We then managed to find a space to park and join in the talk. The talk was really spectecular.! Speakers are really very talented. and in addition, they are talking about people's problem.!.. No wonder they win.! Good job DAP!..


8/3/2008:

Its voting day. Too bad i didnt went to register myself as a voter. So be it. Early in the morning, it was raining, that's why i called it early since it was a nice morning to sleep... the phone of my house rang. Mum answered. From a distance, I can hear their conversation since my door is shut close. Her conversation makes me kinda worried. It seems that an accident had happened to one of my trucks. Sensing the trouble, I immediately jumped out of bed to ask what is happening.


Mum was then sitting on the chair of my living room upstairs, with my dad standing beside her. She said we needa get a recovery truck to recover cylinders which are scattered around due to the accident. Accident is reported by 3rd party passer by saying that it happened at km116, Kuching-Sri Aman road. Our truck collided with another 3 tonne truck...the each landed at each ditch opposite of the road.


Then, mum's handphone rang again. Her appearance began to change while she is on the phone. It was a fatal accident!!! One of my staff, the attendant has lost his life in the accident...OMG!...immediately i said, we better get up to the site fast.

Bathed, had breakfast and took away some food for the recovery workers, immediately we sped up to the site. Took us almost 2 hours to reach the accident site...As i just reversed out from the house, preparing to proceed to site, Kah Fye called...asking for mum's number...and I told him that we are proceeding to the site...He then asked me 'how long for u to reach the site??' that really makes me more nervous..He is testing our ER team competency!..On the way to the site, mum's phone just cant stop ringing...Officers from KL are all calling in to ask about the current situation!...it really does makes me panic as i am driving...I just cant afford to slow down for the whole journey...tried to keep a constant speed of 120km/h all along the way...and hell!..it was raining.. visility was bad...

Passing Simunjan slope, we started to slow down, in anticipation for the accident site....and there we go, driving while scanning.. and finally...!...the heart breaking view jus appear in front of me after we ascend a hill and begin our descend....

my heart was like squashed when i see the scene...Our truck, the trailer was landed in the ditch, sideways as it lean against the hill cliff. It front part is badly damaged, with the passenger side like cut into a slice...its really a scene words cannot describe...another truck, the 3 tonne truck was spotted landed in the ditch at the other side of the road... Owner of the trailer was already at the scene, co-ordinating recovery operations. My mission there: to shoot as many pictures of the site to facilitate accident investigation afterwards...2 Marketing executives are already at the site when we reached there....they are also playing their role as investigators...

Car was then parked by the road, in the grass area. Went down, armed with my camera, began shooting every possible angle of the scene....its really heart wreching to see the wreakage...glasses scattered all around...skid marks on the grass...totallly damaged trailer...cylinders scattered into the jungle.. mattress, bicycle, pots are all scattered around the scene. We were then told that the deceased's, Copta's body, was sent into Simunjan Hospital's morgue..and the injured driver, was sent to Serian hospital..


The Incident:

Trying to understand the incident, we asked those who arrived earlier. According to them, this 3 tonne lorry was parked there since 3am, without any hazard light and its safety triangle was placed jus behind the truck, with the rear bucket door hanged open, blocking the brake light reflector. The driver of this 3 tonne lorry abandoned the truck there due to low fuel and he went off to Serian, dono by what means. Our trailer, slammed into the back part of the 3 tonne lorry while he swevered to avoid the 3 tonne lorry after spotting it at close distance due to the heavy FOG at that area.

Recovery truck then arrived not long afterwards. We co-ordinate with the recovery team and then left for Serian hospital to interview the injured driver. It took us another 1 hour to reach Serian.

The Collapse of Human nature; extinction of 'humane heartedness:

According to the driver during the interview, when he was approaching that area, he was using high light. Due to the heavy fog he spotted in front of him, he then switched to low. Immediately after switching to low, he spotted the truck appear in front of him. Distance is approc 60feet from him. He was travelling at 50+km/h. He tried to avoid it by turning a quarter turn on his steering since he cannot brake due to the wet road and the close distance. Convert 55km/h to feet/sec, its 50.12 feet/sec. THis means he has only merely 1 second to react...!!! Normal person would have just rammed right into the small truck!... Unfortunately, the driver only manage to save half of the trailer. The passenger side was 'Sliced' by the bucket door of the 3 tonne truck. Without hitting the chassis of the trailer, it hit the 'soft spot' of the trailer, meaning parts without frames. The whole front body of the trailer, including the dashboard, collapsed, impacting the attendant's chest...trapping both legs and breaking the right one.

After the impact, the driver woke up and tried to wake the Copta( the attendant ) up....Copta managed to wake up...conscious...but moaning cause of the pain....the driver then tried to help Copta...but cant due to Copta's trapped leg...The driver then came down of the truck and reach for a metal pipe for opening tyre nuts and tried to free Copta's leg from the metals...and he managed to free it...He noticed the broken right leg of Copta...He then stop the bleeding by his towel...and the placed him at the bunk of the trailer... The driver comforted Copta, telling him help will arrive soon!...so as to keep him awake...he then came down from the trailer, waving passing by vehicles....some did slow down and watch, then just sped off as he wave!....what the fuck!... watch movie ar?... then he manage to stop a cargo truck, which then help him called us. sensing the attendant might be in danger due to the running engine, he stopped the engine from the fuel pump choke and then climbed up the trailer to reach to the attendant...the attendant now cried and moaned due to the severe internal injury...the driver then carried Copta down from the trailer and placed him sitting beside the trailer...he wanted to carry copta to the roadside but failed cause he himself has a dislocated knee-cap...and to reach to the road, he have to climb a 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide ditch the trailer is landed in...how sad a scene is this!!!!!

by this time, the road side is filled with kampung people...he begged those people for help, asking them to send Copta to the nearest hospital, but they replied with " Tak tahu lar...; kesian lor; tak pandai;... apa boleh buat??!!" all sorts of rubbish answers!.... Fuck!...where is their human heart?? of seeing others dying due to suffering...!..God Dammn!! What to do? the driver then tried his best to wave down passer by...hoping to meet a good samaritan...he even went uphill...with his crippled leg...imagine a injured person, hoping and waving for help, while a whole road of spectators, heartless rubbish village folks watch him doing that...without even wanting to help.

The driver was then busy waving down vehicles, hoping to meet a good samaritan...too long he went..and when he went back to attend to Copta, trying to keep in awake, Copta has already left us....He dont even have a last chance to speak...lying dead in the ditch beside the road....how sad this is!....

Malaysian Emergency Service: well known for its lateness!.. the accident happened around 6a.m. the by the time police and ambulance arrived, its 9.15a.m. It all came too late for Copta....and Copta died just because of a whole bunch of stupid moron heartless villagers and passer bys who refused to give a helping hand..

Simunjan Hospital Morgue:

Copta's relative is also one of our fleet driver, named Liew. He nearly collapse while working when he got to know the news....he then gathered their relatives and head to Simunjan hospital, hoping to get the body of Copta released, so Copta can be rested in peace.

We joined them, went up to Simunjan hospital. It was my first time driving into the town of Simunjan. Its 55km from the main road junction. And it takes me 2 more hours from Serian. Road condition is really like rally style, though tar road but its hilly.

I was so speechless when met with Liew and his family members...dono what to say... it was really very solemn, especially at the hospital. We were then told to get the police approval for the body to be released. It was already nearly 5.30p.m. when we were there. We then proceeded to the police station, with Copta's eldest son, only aging 18. A police report need to be lodged. Such an coincidence, the 3 tonne truck driver was also there lodging his report.

" Ada leh, saya ada simpan segi tiga leh, saya pun tidak tahu kenapa dia langgar..." That really gets me to my nerves as its audible since he was jus next door. If it was no in the police station, i would have beaten him up...even with safety triangles. Celaka...speaks as if he has done nothing wrong for parking right in the middle of the road. Both the truck driver and the owner tried to be relieved of any responsibility...cibai!...taukeh said that the truck was stole driven by not his driver, and the driver said that he worked for 3 yrs for the company dy...wad the heck...! ur car stolen no need report ar?? next time i burn ur car then also say ppl steal drive lar!...what the fuck...don so huai...!ram ur truck into bits then u noe...!...rampant parking till caused death still talk as if they have done nothing wrong...what the world is this...!

We then proceeded back to the morgue, waiting for the doctor to certify the cause of death....a police truck was then arranged to carry the body down to 10th mile, Copta's house. By the time we reach 17th mile, it was already 1130p.m. Only then i manage to have my dinner...

Visited the family on Sunday....Copta's family members was really so grateful for our help in getting the body released so fast...but one thing i cannot stand...till tears nearly fell, and my mum cried; when we were looking at Copta for the last time while he is in his coffin, his youngest son said: 'daddy is laughing', indeed, Copta looks very peaceful....haiz....how innocent his children is...i guess he doesnt know that daddy had left them forever....daddy is their only loved ones....their mum had divorced long ago...leaving them with their dad...and now that their dad had gone, they are made orphans...All these just because a truck parked rampantly..!!! WTF!!

Investigation teams then flew in from KL on Monday and Wednesday....

Investigation photos:

3 tonne lorry still INTACT after the crash. The open rear bucket door caused the side bucket door to act like a knift, slicing the trailer's passenger's side.

Is Election a gamble or trade against posts?? Wad the hell??

DAP man in a spot over mayor’s appointment

KUCHING: DAP Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen has been put in a tight spot over his challenge to the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) on the appointment of the new city south mayor.
SUPP’s president Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam has now counter-challenged Chong, who is seeking his second term as Bandar Kuching MP, to quit as Kota Sentosa assemblyman if the new mayor is a Chinese.
In addition, Chong should also resign as MP if he is re-elected on Saturday (March 8).
Chong has given the SUPP until today to confirm or deny speculation that the new mayor would be a non-Chinese.
The DAP state secretary has asked the SUPP to apologise to the Chinese community if a non-Chinese were to be appointed as the new mayor.
In an immediate response, Dr Chan promised to resign as SUPP boss and Deputy Chief Minister if a Chinese did not fill the vacancy of the mayor after the general election (or parliamentary election in Sarawak).

Gamble against election outcomes?? sounds like the most expensive gamble....people choose u, u lost ur gamble, u quit...wad is this? no need vote lar.!