Monday, November 15, 2010

Question: If my iPhone charger is causing the seas to rise so fast, why is this ancient Roman port so far *inland* from the current coastline?

Roman Decadence and the Future of the Sea - NYTimes.com
Scientists once thought this volume increase had been going on, in fits and starts, for thousands of years. This widespread belief was often used as a debating point by climate-change skeptics, who argued that sea-level rise was nothing to worry about because it had existed throughout the history of human civilization.

But research in recent years has turned that notion on its head. The matter is not entirely settled, but some persuasive evidence points to the conclusion that the volume of the ocean was fairly stable for the last 2,000 years and began rising only recently, more or less in sync with industrialization. This is important because it suggests that sea level might be pretty sensitive to the greenhouse gases that humans are dumping into the atmosphere.
Flashback: Roman amphitheatre unearthed at ancient port | Mail Online
The Roman port is now two miles from the current coastline

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