Antarctica’s Glaciers Threatened by Warm Waters
Breakthrough study published in Nature revealed a shocking trend. If the global warming increases by 2 degrees, it could initiate the melting of critical floating ice shelves in Antarctica that can increase the sea level to dangerous proportions. The worst is that we don't have to wait for centuries to see the effect global warming has on the glaciers. Amundsen Sea in West Antarctica has already succumbed to the climate change and has been deemed unstoppable. Although there is no habitation down this far and there are no claims to the ice-covered lands but it has still caught the attention of scientists who are paying close attention to this forsaken region, size of Iraq. The probe in this area has revealed that the glaciers are melting at an alarming rate as the ocean facing fronts melt and break, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
The scientists have been raising red flags about West Antarctica and its endangered ice sheet which may singlehandedly threaten the coastlines of the world. Even though these glaciers are fairly unheard of, this outrageous body of ice is size of Pennsylvania and is known to have discharged 100 billion of ice each year. This glacier is not only huge but also vulnerable as it is exposed to the warm waters. According to Washington Post, if the ice shelf starts to collapse due to debilitating geographical circumstances then the process will become unstoppable. Due to distance away from any research base in US, the scientists are asking for more support from the federal government to make the study of West Antarctica glacier their top priority.
According to Victoria University Researcher Nick Golledge, it will take very ambitious efforts to control the emissions that will stop ice shelves in Antarctica from collapsing. He also says that the melting ice shelves can contribute about 40 centimeters increase in sea level by the end of the century, reports Radio New Zealand National.
