UnstoppableTwo high-profile studies: Collapse of parts of West Antarctic Ice Sheet inevitablePosted May 16, 2014
Two high-profile studies, one funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) PRESS RELEASES NSF-funded researchers at the University of Washington Data gathered by NSF-funded airborne radar, detailed topography maps and computer modeling were used to make the determination. The findings are published in the May 16 edition of the journal Science. The ice sheet, much of which lies below sea level, contains enough ice to cause another three to four meters (10 to 13 feet) of global sea-level rise. “There’s been a lot of speculation about the stability of marine ice sheets, and many scientists suspected that this kind of behavior is under way,” said Ian Joughin The paper’s co-authors are Benjamin Smith ![]() Photo Credit: August Allen/Antarctic Photo Library
The heavily crevassed surface of Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf, which holds back another river of ice that is rapidly retreating, according to scientists.
The new discovery is among a series of significant findings that derive from research funded by NSF during the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2009 Concurrently, a new study by researchers at NASA and the University of California, Irvine The study presents multiple lines of evidence, incorporating 40 years of observations that indicate the glaciers in the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica “have passed the point of no return,” according to glaciologist and lead author Eric Rignot “This sector will be a major contributor to sea level rise in the decades and centuries to come,” Rignot said. “A conservative estimate is it could take several centuries for all of the ice to flow into the sea.” |