Visit Indian Travel Sites
Goa,
Kerala,
Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh,
Delhi,
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh,
Assam,
Sikkim,
Madhya Pradesh,
Jammu & Kashmir
Karnataka
|
Vanishing ice shelves in Antarctic Peninsula could result in sea-level rise | A new research by US Geological Survey (USGS) has determined that ice shelves are retreating in the southern section of the Antarctic Peninsula due to climate change, which could result in glacier retreat and sea-level rise if warming continues. The research,
by the USGS, is the first to document that every ice front in the southern part
of the Antarctic Peninsula has been retreating overall from 1947 to 2009, with
the most dramatic changes occurring since 1990. The USGS previously documented
that the majority of ice fronts on the entire Peninsula have also retreated during
the late 20th century and into the early 21st century. The ice shelves are attached
to the continent and already floating, holding in place the Antarctic ice sheet
that covers about 98 percent of the Antarctic continent. As the ice shelves break
off, it is easier for outlet glaciers and ice streams from the ice sheet to flow
into the sea. The transition of that ice from land to the ocean is what raises
sea level. "This research is part of a larger ongoing USGS project that is for
the first time studying the entire Antarctic coastline in detail, and this is
important because the Antarctic ice sheet contains 91 percent of Earth's glacier
ice," said USGS scientist Jane Ferrigno. "The loss of ice shelves is evidence
of the effects of global warming. We need to be alert and continually understand
and observe how our climate system is changing," she added. The Peninsula is one
of Antarctica's most rapidly changing areas because it is farthest away from the
South Pole, and its ice shelf loss may be a forecast of changes in other parts
of Antarctica and the world if warming continues. Retreat along the southern part
of the Peninsula is of particular interest because that area has the Peninsula's
coolest temperatures, demonstrating that global warming is affecting the entire
length of the Peninsula. The Antarctic Peninsula's southern section as described
in this study contains five major ice shelves: Wilkins, George VI, Bach, Stange
and the southern portion of Larsen Ice Shelf. The ice lost since 1998 from the
Wilkins Ice Shelf alone totals more than 4,000 square kilometers, an area larger
than the state of Rhode Island in the US. |
|
|
|
|
|