Dense.

[Thorodin]

Further to report seen today, apparently so much polar ice has melted that it has affected gravity in the area of maximum melt. The report goes on to say that gravity depends on density of covering Earth layer. Please, what is the density of water compared to ice and is a variation in 'localised' gravity advantageous? I did think global warming might have affected the date as well, had to check it wasn't 1st April again.

[anonymous-user]

er, you know that ice floats on water yeah???

[Thorodin]

Somewhat. Also that expansion occurs at 4degC.

The report I read today,from an authoritative source, seems counter-intuitive and my admitted lack of scientific rigour made me curious as to its conclusions. Until the question of apparently variable gravity is resolved I won't be able to sleep. I'm not yet at the stage of expectancy of apples rising from orchard greensward but hope to understand the assertion.

[Simpo Two]

Frankly I'd file it under bks and move on. If anything, the transisition from that big pile of ice into water is simply evening out gravity as the water distributes itself around the globe. But it's a fag-paper much compared to the 4,000 miles of rock and molten iron underneath.

People just don't have enough important things to worry about these days.

[Thorodin]

That was my initial, and prevailing, opinion. The report was by the European Space Agency and was a conclusion drawn by their Gravity Field and steady-state Oceanic Circulation Explorer satellite survey. They spent 4 years, and £millions of tax payer funds, measuring Earth's gravity. The point is all this cobblers feeds into the dogma that the Green agenda regard as sacred and unchallengeable.

[Simpo Two]

Well it may be true, but is it important? No.

Probably the research was for something else and the loonies adpated it to their own agenda.

[MrBrightSi]

Wouldn't it be the same as saying a developed nation is counterweighting the world?

Isn't the contents of the earth always on the earth, unless the ice pisses off to space.

[kiseca]

I thought Newtonian gravity depended on mass, not density, in which case I can't see how melting ice could affect gravity unless the water is going somewhere else entirely.

Unless there's some other theory of gravity floating around that makes density important.

[Asterix]

1st October - Lack of Antarctic Ice changes gravity. http://www.iflscience.com/environment/loss-antarct...

7th October - Antarctic Ice reaches record levels. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-278...

[Shaolin]

Asterix said:

1st October - Lack of Antarctic Ice changes gravity. http://www.iflscience.com/environment/loss-antarct...

7th October - Antarctic Ice reaches record levels. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-278...

The first link refers to land-based freshwater glacial ice, the second to seasonal sea-ice.

[Asterix]

Does one affect the other?

Does freshwater ice end up in the sea reducing salinity making the sea easier to freeze?