The Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in western Antarctica (above) has been losing ice rapidly in the past ten years, a new study shows.Breaking Earth News
Antarctica
Earth Changes
The western part of Antarctica is shedding ice much faster today than it was just ten years ago, according to new satellite measurements. The measurements, which surveyed the coasts of nearly the entire continent, suggest that climate models underestimate how quickly Antarctica responds to ongoing global warming, said study co-author Jonathan Bamber of the University of Bristol in England.
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From the Washington Post
Part of the Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica is shown after its rapid collapse in early 2002, which was attributed to global warming. Ice sheets elsewhere on the continent that were considered stable are melting, scientists have found. At right, satellite images show the Sheldon Glacier in western Antarctica in, from top, 1986, 2001 and last October. (Kpa/mediacolors)Sheets Melting in an Area Once Thought to be Unaffected by Global Warming
Climatic changes appear to be destabilizing vast ice sheets of western Antarctica that had previously seemed relatively protected from global warming, researchers reported yesterday, raising the prospect of faster sea-level rise than current estimates.
Satellite-derived image of the surface topography of Antarctica. Shown in color are the flow speeds of glaciers draining ice into the oceans. The scale is meters per year. It is noticeable how the rate speeds up in narrow glacier outlets. Credit: Jonathan Bamber
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Meltdown in Antarctica
RELATED VIDEO
Meltdown in Antarctica
Jan. 14: Climate changes are melting large ice sheets in areas of Antarctica once thought to be relatively unaffected by global warming. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.Meltdown in Antarctica
