Global warming caused the melt rate of glaciers in west Antarctica to triple in the past 10 years, according to a new study.
That surge means the glaciers lost a Mt. Everest-sized amount of water every two years over the past 21 years, at roughly a mass of 83 gigatons per year, according to scientists at NASA and the University of California-Irvine .
'The mass loss of these glaciers is increasing at an amazing rate,' said study co-author and scientist Isabella Velicogna, of University of California-Irvine and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The glaciers are hemorrhaging ice faster than any other part of Antarctica and 'will significantly contribute to sea level rise in decades to centuries to come,' according to the study.
The study - which has been accepted for publication in the journal Geophysical Research Letters - used four separate methods to measure the ice loss from 1992 to 2013.
The ice in the glaciers is freshwater land ice, which is different from Antarctic sea ice, Velicogna said. Antarctic sea ice was at record high levels this year. Sea ice is frozen ocean water that melts each summer, then refreezes each winter.
The glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment in West Antarctica are hemorrhaging ice faster than any other part of Antarctica(Photo: NASA)
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1zQgE5a
Entities 0 Name: Antarctica Count: 3 1 Name: NASA Count: 3 2 Name: University of California-Irvine Count: 2 3 Name: West Antarctica Count: 1 4 Name: Geophysical Research Letters Count: 1 5 Name: Isabella Velicogna Count: 1 6 Name: Velicogna Count: 1 7 Name: Antarctic Count: 1 8 Name: Amundsen Sea Embayment Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1vfZ5Hz Title: Fastest-Melting Region of Antarctica Triples Rate in a Decade Description: The fastest-melting region of Antarctica is doing so at a rate triple that of a decade ago, according to a new analysis, making it the largest area contributor to the rise in sea level.
Post a Comment for "NASA: Antarctic ice loss triples in a decade - USA TODAY"