That's because an ice shelf - a floating extension of the glacier propped up on an underwater mountain - shields it from warm ocean waters and holds the glacier in place. Rising ocean levels can cause flooding in coastal areas that are home to millions of people and many of the world's largest cities, damaging property and infrastructure, and leading to more catastrophic storms.įor now, Thwaites's eastern region is somewhat stable, melting more slowly than the rest of the glacier. While scientists don't expect that catastrophe for at least 200 years, ice melt from Thwaites currently fuels about 4% of annual sea-level rise. The glacier earned its grim nickname because its total collapse would raise global sea levels by about two feet and expose other Antarctic glaciers to the same melt process. Thwaites, which is the size of Florida, is already melting quickly, losing about 50 billion tons of ice per year. It often indicates a user profile.Ī crucial ice shelf on Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier is on track to collapse within five years, accelerating the melting of the notorious "doomsday glacier." Then it suddenly plunged in 2016 and has stayed lower than average since.ĬNN’s Rachel Ramirez contributed to this report.Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. Satellite data that stretches back to 1978 shows that the region was still producing record-high sea ice extent as recently as 20. News Search Breaking News Headlines Stories Comments News United States Search. Iceberg Twice the Size of NYC May Soon Break off Antarctica, Says NASA. “There’s a link between what’s going on in Antarctica and the general warming trend around the rest of the world, but it’s different from what we see in mountain glaciers and what we see in the Arctic,” Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the University of Colorado Boulder and lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, previously told CNN. In West Antarctica, an iceberg about twice the size of New York City is about to break away from the main continent. Unlike the Arctic, where scientists say climate change is accelerating its impacts, Antarctica’s sea ice extent is highly variable. Recent data shows the sea ice has not since recovered, suggesting the continent could end the summer with a new record on the books for the second year in a row.Īntarctica has experienced a roller-coaster of sea ice extent over the past couple of decades, swinging wildly from record highs to record lows. Strong winds have also hastened the sea ice decline, they reported. Researchers at the data center say the low sea ice has been due in part to a large band of warmer-than-normal air temperatures, which climbed to 2 degrees Celsius above average over the Ross Sea in November and December. Iceberg A-74, which is more than 20 times the size of Manhattan, split from Antarcticas Brunt Ice Shelf in February. “While the decline in Antarctic sea ice extent is always steep at this time of year, it has been unusually rapid this year,” scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported in early January, “and at the end of December, Antarctic sea ice extent stood at the lowest in the 45-year satellite record.” Spectacular capture of a large iceberg breaking off the glacier Perito Moreno in Argentina. Such a crash could have caused a new, even more massive iceberg to break off. The calving comes amid record-low sea ice extent in Antarctica, where it is summer. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images) Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket/Getty ImagesĦ5% of Antarctica's plants and animals could disappear, scientists say. ANTARCTICA - 0: Antarctica, Weddell Sea, Snow Hill Island, Emperor Penguin Colony Aptenodytes forsteri With Chicks On Fast Ice.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |