Ersin Arslan / Stockholm, March 19 (HNA) – Satellite measurements show that the glaciers melt faster during the summer in the part of West Antarctica that points towards South America. This means that more ice is drawn from the interior into the sea with an increased sea level rise as a result, says Ian Brown, a glaciologist at Stockholm University.
The UN climate panel stated in 2021 that if the global average temperature increases by two to three degrees, the entire West Antarctic ice mass risks melting away in the long term, with major sea level rises as a result, the research shows. “The fastest melting is on the Antarctic Peninsula, the part of West Antarctica that points towards South America,” said Brown.
New observations with the European Space Agency’s radar satellite, Sentinel, during the period 2014 to 2021 now reveal that the glaciers on the peninsula are also sliding increasingly faster towards the sea in the summer, said Brown and added: “This is shown by British and Dutch researchers in a study in Nature Geoscience.”
When the temperature rises above zero degrees, the surface of the glacier melts. A complex system of tiny channels in the ice leads the water down to the bottom of the glacier causing it to slide out to sea, said Ian Brown and added:
“These processes lead to more than 100 large glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula melting faster than previously expected. If all the ice on the entire Antarctic Peninsula were to melt, it could cause a global sea level rise of seven centimetres. And then the contribution of splashed water from the rest of West Antarctica is not included.
“Seven centimetres is quite a lot. It will be especially noticeable in connection with storms. Communities must prepare for rising sea levels to protect infrastructure and homes. East Antarctica is the largest area. Large parts are at an altitude of 2000 meters and are cold. Has almost no melting. West Antarctica has been losing ice masses since 1990 with the highest rate of loss from 2010 to 2019.”
“The Antarctic Peninsula is just south of South America. Observations show a strong warming trend over the peninsula since the 1950s. If global warming reaches two to three degrees (and that climate persists), West Antarctica’s ice masses will almost completely disappear in the long term.”