Global Ice melt and heat balance

[charles65]

Can anyone point to a refereed paper exploring the heat absorbed by melting around 500 GT of ie per year (Antarctic - 127 GT pa; Greenland 286 GT pa; sea ice, glaciers estim. 100 GT pa)?

As latent heat of fusion is 333.55 KJoules per Kg, I reckon the heat absorbed per year is around 1.67 X 10²³ joules per year [1.67 X 10²⁰ Kj per year].

When all the ice is gone - this heat will still be flowing but now into our biosphere. What are the likely impacts.

 

[mfb]

500 GT are 5*10¹⁴ kg, multiplied by 333 kJ/kg I get 1.6*10²⁰ J, not kJ. Your numbers seem to be a factor 1000 too large.

Compare this to 1.7*10¹⁷ W overall radiation balance or 5*10²⁴ J when multiplied by 1 year. It is negligible.

 

[charles65]

Yes, a check shows you are right.

 

[hmmm27]

Loss of the high-albedo north-polar ice cap in the summer means an entire ocean newly opened to 24/7 insolation, 6 months of the year. Given that, I would posit that the previous posters vastly underestimate the amount of extra energy being dumped into the system.

Arctic average temperatures are already up 3-4°C.

So, shortly, we get to find out what happens when the ice melts in our drink and the little umbrella is removed. (Wait, is that actually why the little umbrella is there in the first place ?)

 

[mfb]

Loss of the high-albedo north-polar ice cap in the summer means an entire ocean newly opened to 24/7 insolation, 6 months of the year.

That is a different question.

 

[hmmm27]

That is a different question.

Like yourself, I didn't claim to be answering the OP's actual or implied question. But, if you prefer...

- a phase change calc assumes starting and ending at 0C.
- added energy calc is incomplete without accounting for albedo (granted currently negligible for continental Greenland and Antarctica, but very very sequitur for sea ice)

However, my question still stands ; Is the little umbrella in fruity drinks (deliberately) included to keep it cool under the midday sun ?