A glaciologist (who knew there were such people) says sea levels will rise at varying rates around the world because of a quirk of the earth’s gravity linked to global warming.” I am not too sure how gravity is linked to global warming, but….

“Everyone thinks sea level rises the same around the world,” David Vaughan, a leading glaciologist, said at the Rothera Base on the Antarctic Peninsula. “But it doesn’t”.

The, um, ‘expert’ days sea rises could vary by tens of centimeters from region to region, provided seas gain by an average of one meter by 2100 along with temperature rises. Translation – temps must rise AND seas must rise on average one meter by 2100, THEN, there MIGHT be a variation. In other words, he doesn’t know, he is just guessing.

Vaughn says that big ice sheets on Antarctica and on Greenland have a gravitational pull that lifts the seas around them. This means that water levels around Antarctica are higher than if the frozen continent were an open ocean. Huh?!

When the ice thaws Antarctica gets smaller and its gravitational tug diminishes. In some places around the continent Vaughn says the level of the Southern Ocean might even drop even though there is a flood of fresh water into the oceans.

The paradox is seas will rise least where thawing ice pours into them and most further away from where the ice is melting.

Vaughan said, “Ice lost from Antarctica has a bigger impact on European sea level rise than ice lost from the European Alps.”

Try this – put some ice cubes into a glass of water and mark the level of the water. Then wait for a few hours for the ice to melt and go back and check the water level. Come back and tell me the difference.

Happy Father’s Day to a weedy sea dragon at the Georgia Aquarium. Apparently, the sea dragon, along with sea horses and pipe fish are the only species where the male carries the eggs. And, a Georgia Aquarium sea dragon has about 70 fertilized eggs that he is carrying.

It’s only the third time ever that one of these rare birds, um, sea dragons has become pregnant at a U.S. aquarium. What’s more, researchers don’t know how it happened, or more precisely what got the father in the mood to mate. (Um, I am a father, maybe I can help out here.) Researchers say there is “something biologically or environmentally that triggers them to want to reproduce.” Really?!

During mating, the female lays dozens of eggs and then attaches them to the male’s tail. Survival rate is about 60% for sea dragon’s born in captivity. Let’s see 70 eggs X 60% = 42 more little dragons to star in a future Dr. Seuss book.

Congratulations, Dad! Mom!

[Image source : Yahoo!]