I do not know if you have noticed it, but our great state is targeted on a regular basis. We are blamed for a variety of things from wolf hunts, the demise of the bear population, oil production, handing out dividends to our residents while not exercising a state income tax, pollution, disregard for the environment, excessive commercial fishing and any other popular cause that those who know better can conceive.
Reuters News on Monday, 10/2/06 published a story that is now blaming Alaska for the destruction of icebergs near Antarctica! You know, the one at the bottom of the earth, not our own North Pole at the top of the earth! A primary quote in the article is "One of the things we're debating in the world right now is whether global warming might increase the storms in the oceans." It was just recently published that because the water temperatures are warming is the reason that Florida has not had any hurricanes this season. Perhaps, our prognosticator should read from the same page.
However, to the point of the destruction of the Antarctica icebergs. According to this same article "A bad storm in Alaska last October (2005) generated an ocean swell that broke apart a giant iceberg near Antarctica six days later." Reportedly, the waves from this storm traveled the 8,300 miles to destroy the iceberg. Because of Alaska, iceberg B15A broke into half a dozen pieces. They summarized, that a storm in the Gulf of Alaska created waves of about 35 feet. Tracing these waves, they discovered from weather buoys that when these waves passed Hawaii they were about 15 feet in height.
Now I am no mathematical whiz kid, but our 50th state is less than half way to the Antarctica. The typical winter waves generated in Alaska had diminished by 20 feet when they passed Hawaii. Consequently, after traveling from Hawaii to the Antarctica, they would have decreased at a similar rate on the remaining 60% of the journey south. Upon their arrival in the Antarctica, they would have been a ripple on the water. I have made the transit around Cape Horn, there was a reason that all of our aircraft were put in the hanger bay to make the transit. Cape Horn is one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world and known for their severe storms, to the south of these straits is the massive ice of Antarctica.
But regardless, Alaska got the blame once again. The researchers final quote is worth sharing, "We think that B15A was in the right position where these big waves would be fatal to it." MacAyeal said, "The iceberg shattered like a gracile wine glass being sung to by a heavy soprano." I think MacAyeal had a few to many wines glasses full of fruit punch when he conceived this blame game concept, besides, does he think all sopranos are heavy? That is really a profiling attitude.
However, just to be safe, perhaps we should cancel any planned winter storms in the Gulf of Alaska this year.