time2lose@lemmy.world to Not The Onion@lemmy.worldEnglish · 9 days agoClimbers are melting Everest’s glacier with their urine, study warnswww.the-independent.comexternal-linkmessage-square28linkfedilinkarrow-up11arrow-down10
arrow-up11arrow-down1external-linkClimbers are melting Everest’s glacier with their urine, study warnswww.the-independent.comtime2lose@lemmy.world to Not The Onion@lemmy.worldEnglish · 9 days agomessage-square28linkfedilink
minus-squareevasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up0·9 days agoNot exactly. The specific heat of ice is about half of the specific heat of water. So 6 tonnes of urine at 37°C would take 12 tonnes of ice from -37°C to 0°C. That’s still ice, though, and it takes way more energy to thaw ice that to warm ice from -37 to 0. Actually, I’ll just do the math. 6 Mg piss * 37°C * 4.18 J/g°C = 929 MJ Let’s say ambient ice temp is -20°C. 20°C * 2.05 J/g°C * X + 333.55 J/g * X = 929 MJ X ~2.5 tonnes of ice melted. Not too bad. I suspect the change in albedo is the real problem.
Not exactly. The specific heat of ice is about half of the specific heat of water.
So 6 tonnes of urine at 37°C would take 12 tonnes of ice from -37°C to 0°C.
That’s still ice, though, and it takes way more energy to thaw ice that to warm ice from -37 to 0.
Actually, I’ll just do the math.
6 Mg piss * 37°C * 4.18 J/g°C = 929 MJ
Let’s say ambient ice temp is -20°C.
20°C * 2.05 J/g°C * X + 333.55 J/g * X = 929 MJ
X ~2.5 tonnes of ice melted.
Not too bad. I suspect the change in albedo is the real problem.