https://sputnikglobe.com/20230407/ice-sheets-may-retreat-faster-than-previously-thought-likely-to-affect-sea-levels-badly---study-1109223152.html
Ice Sheets May Retreat Faster Than Previously Thought, Likely to Affect Sea Levels Badly - Study
Ice Sheets May Retreat Faster Than Previously Thought, Likely to Affect Sea Levels Badly - Study
Sputnik International
Ice sheets are huge masses of ice covering large areas of land.They are important because they cool the planet by reflecting sunlight back into space. But a new study suggests that ice sheets are much more prone to erosion than previously thought.
2023-04-07T03:36+0000
2023-04-07T03:36+0000
2023-12-22T22:24+0000
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Ice sheets can retreat at an astonishing rate of up to 600 meters a day during periods of climate warming, a new study has determined.Experts used high-resolution images of the seafloor to map more than 7,600 small landforms, called "corrugation ridges," to determine the rate of retreat of the former ice sheet that stretched across Norway about 20,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age.By calculating the rate of hummock formation, the researchers found that the former ice sheet was undergoing rapid retreat pulses of 50 to 600 meters per day - 20 times faster than the fastest retreat rate previously measured. This is much faster than any rate of ice sheet retreat observed from satellites or inferred from similar landforms in Antarctica.“This shows how rates of ice-sheet retreat averaged over several years or longer can conceal shorter episodes of more rapid retreat,” said study co-author Julian Dowdeswell, a professor of the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge.Scientists study ice sheets to better understand how they work and how they change over time. By studying ice sheets, they can better predict the effects of climate change and take action to mitigate its effects.Previous studies have shown that the "most important glacier in the world," the Thwaites Glacier, which is about the size of Great Britain, is responsible for 4% of the rise in sea level each year and the process is only increasing.The study was published in the Nature.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230208/millions-of-people-at-risk-of-flooding-due-to-climate-change-research-finds-1107060789.html
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ice sheets, global warming, glaciers melting, thwaites glacier, climate change, water ecosystem on earth
ice sheets, global warming, glaciers melting, thwaites glacier, climate change, water ecosystem on earth
Ice Sheets May Retreat Faster Than Previously Thought, Likely to Affect Sea Levels Badly - Study
03:36 GMT 07.04.2023 (Updated: 22:24 GMT 22.12.2023) Ice sheets are huge masses of ice layers covering large areas of land, mostly in Antarctica and Greenland. The glacial ice is important because they cool the planet by reflecting sunlight back into space and store vast quantities of fresh water. However, a new study suggests ice sheets are much more prone to erosion than previously thought.
Ice sheets can retreat at an astonishing rate of up to 600 meters a day during periods of climate warming, a new study has determined.
Experts used high-resolution images of the seafloor to map more than 7,600 small landforms, called "corrugation ridges," to determine the rate of retreat of the former ice sheet that stretched across Norway about 20,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age.
"If temperatures continue to rise, then we might have the ice being melted and thinned from above as well as from below," said lead author Christine Batchelor, "so that could kind of end up with a scenario that looks more similar to what we had [off] Norway after the last glaciation."
By calculating the rate of hummock formation, the researchers found that the former ice sheet was undergoing rapid retreat pulses of 50 to 600 meters per day - 20 times faster than the fastest retreat rate previously measured. This is much faster than any rate of ice sheet retreat observed from satellites or inferred from similar landforms in Antarctica.
"This is not a model. This is real observation. And it is frankly scary. Even to me," Eric Rignot, a glaciologist who was not involved in the study, said in an email to US media.
“This shows how rates of ice-sheet retreat averaged over several years or longer can conceal shorter episodes of more rapid retreat,” said study co-author Julian Dowdeswell, a professor of the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge.
"This study shows the value of acquiring high-resolution imagery about the glaciated landscapes that are preserved on the seafloor," said fellow study co-author Dr. Dag Ottesen from the Geological Survey of Norway.
Scientists study ice sheets to better understand how they work and how they change over time. By studying ice sheets, they can better predict the effects of climate change and take action to mitigate its effects.
8 February 2023, 04:09 GMT
Previous studies have shown that the "
most important glacier in the world," the Thwaites Glacier, which is about the size of Great Britain, is responsible for 4% of the rise in sea level each year and the process is only increasing.
The study was
published in the Nature.
