Yet Another Antarctic Ice Mass Is Becoming Destabilized, Scientists Report

Researchers in US and Europe are reporting evidence of accelerated melting and destabilization of Antarctic ice shelves. “Using satellite based and gravity measurements, the research team found that ‘a major portion of the region has, since 2009, destabilized’ and accounts for ‘a major fraction of Antarctica’s contribution to rising sea level,’” reports Chris Mooney for the Washington Post about the research study in Science. “The likely cause of the change, they say, is warmer waters reaching the base of mostly submerged ice shelves that hold back larger glaciers – melting them from below.” The study suggests that the area of Antarctica under study, notes a University of Bristol researcher, is “contributing around .16 millimeters to sea level rise each year, out of a global total that has been recently estimated at about 2.6 to 2.9 millimeters annually.” Other factors adding to a rising sea is melting in Greenland and the Arctic and thermal expansion of ocean waters. – YaleGlobal