As the Earth keeps on warming, there is a possibility that over a third of the Antarctic ice shelf will collapse. In a recent study, experts at the University of Reading have discovered that as a change in climate keeps up, if Earth's global temperature increases to 4 degrees Celsius (7. 2 degrees Fahrenheit) its ice shelf will collapse. Scientists have been trying to understand why Antarctica has been melting for decades, after it was discovered that the ice shelf had begun to melt several hundred years ago due to a change in climate. For nearly 20 years, researchers have been tracking the rate of ice shelf melt, looking at a myriad of variables that determine the rate and extent of ice shelf melt.
RELATED: Earth Has Last. Good. Chance To Avoid Warmingover 4 Degrees Celsius, Humankind Losing Its Grip On The Planet.
Published in the Journal of Glaciology, Lena Gardos and her colleagues analyzed statistical models that showed the melting rates of the ice shelves in Greenland and Antarctica mirror sequentially the total amount of ice by mass, including both floating ice, as well as ice that is anchored to the ocean floor beneath the ice. According to Gardos, these different technical definitions used to describe the ice shelf's existence make determining their melt rates tricky. However, she explains that this true-equivalent melting rate "provides rather important momentum that can change the current debate regarding its disappearance." The researchers recommend that the international community use a true-equivalent melt rate of 1.6 inches per year.
The collapse of the entire Antarctic Ice Shelf will have an impact on the planet that stretches from Australia to South America. If the ice shelves fail to hold more ice mass, argues Gardos, it could mobilize and accelerate climate changes caused by greenhouse gas emissions. According to the report, "Global warming is associated with increasing departures of sea level and more violent lightning storms which generate more light and heat." In addition, she adds, "the sudden collapse of ice shelves would produce very large tsunamis due to stronger waves and eddies as seen on the North Atlantic and on Great Sydney."
The scientists have left open the possibility that global temperatures, and not oceans, are affecting Antarctica's greenhouse gas flow, but they argue that this uncertainty can be minimized by taking into account the total quantities of ice melting from global warming — which is what they've done. "The paper encourages a co-ordinated trans-disciplinary effort to study the link between ice shelves and marine ice streams," concluded Sabine Pfeiler, one of the researchers involved in the study. "This will require enhanced funding and an increased number of scientists: there is an urgent need for Antarctic ice shelf research."
The researchers conclude that current estimates of future Antarctic ice melt should be extended for the land surfaces of Chile,
RELATED: Earth Has Last. Good. Chance To Avoid Warmingover 4 Degrees Celsius, Humankind Losing Its Grip On The Planet.
Published in the Journal of Glaciology, Lena Gardos and her colleagues analyzed statistical models that showed the melting rates of the ice shelves in Greenland and Antarctica mirror sequentially the total amount of ice by mass, including both floating ice, as well as ice that is anchored to the ocean floor beneath the ice. According to Gardos, these different technical definitions used to describe the ice shelf's existence make determining their melt rates tricky. However, she explains that this true-equivalent melting rate "provides rather important momentum that can change the current debate regarding its disappearance." The researchers recommend that the international community use a true-equivalent melt rate of 1.6 inches per year.
The collapse of the entire Antarctic Ice Shelf will have an impact on the planet that stretches from Australia to South America. If the ice shelves fail to hold more ice mass, argues Gardos, it could mobilize and accelerate climate changes caused by greenhouse gas emissions. According to the report, "Global warming is associated with increasing departures of sea level and more violent lightning storms which generate more light and heat." In addition, she adds, "the sudden collapse of ice shelves would produce very large tsunamis due to stronger waves and eddies as seen on the North Atlantic and on Great Sydney."
The scientists have left open the possibility that global temperatures, and not oceans, are affecting Antarctica's greenhouse gas flow, but they argue that this uncertainty can be minimized by taking into account the total quantities of ice melting from global warming — which is what they've done. "The paper encourages a co-ordinated trans-disciplinary effort to study the link between ice shelves and marine ice streams," concluded Sabine Pfeiler, one of the researchers involved in the study. "This will require enhanced funding and an increased number of scientists: there is an urgent need for Antarctic ice shelf research."
The researchers conclude that current estimates of future Antarctic ice melt should be extended for the land surfaces of Chile,
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