Rapidly Melting Antarctic Glaciers Flowing Faster
Pastor Dale Morgan
Rapidly Melting Antarctic Glaciers Flowing Faster*
"The Antarctic peninsula has experienced some of the fastest warming on
Earth, nearly three degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) over the
last half-century," said Hamish Pritchard, the main author of the study,
which confirms recent findings in Greenland.
London (AFP) Jun 05, 2007
Hundreds of glaciers in the Antarctic peninsula are flowing faster,
adding to a rise in sea levels, British experts said on Tuesday as they
pointed the finger of blame at global warming. In a study coincidentally
released on the eve of the Group of Eight (G8) summit, the British
Antarctic Survey (BAS) reported a 12-percent increase in the speed of
over 300 glaciers monitored by satellite between 1993 and 2003.
It is already accepted that global warming is causing more snow to melt
in the Antarctic summer and that coastal ice shelves are retreating.
The new study, published in the US-based Journal of Geophysical
Research, found that the glaciers picked up speed as they headed towards
the sea.
As the glaciers thinned, their meltwater acted as a lubricant between
the ice and the underlying rock bed, reducing friction.
The work focussed on glaciers in a 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) tongue of
land which juts out from Antarctic towards South America and is a
closely-watched barometer of climate change.
"The Antarctic peninsula has experienced some of the fastest warming on
Earth, nearly three degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) over the
last half-century," said Hamish Pritchard, the main author of the study,
which confirms recent findings in Greenland.
"Eighty-seven percent of its glaciers have been retreating during this
period and now we see these glaciers are also speeding up...
Understanding what's happening now gives us our best chance of
predicting what's likely to happen in the future," he added.
In February, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
predicted that sea levels will rise by between 18 and 59 centimetres
(7.2 and 23.2 inches) this century, mainly as a result of thermal
expansion since water expands when it is heated.
This level could be amplified by runoff from melting polar icesheets,
the IPCC said. It stressed, though, that the response of Antarctica, a
vast continent where the bulk of the world's fresh water is locked up,
was largely unknown.
"These new results give scientists a clearer picture about the way that
climate warming can affect glaciers both in the Arctic and Antarctic,"
the BAS said in a press release.
"Furthermore, they pave the way for more reliable projections of future
sea-level rise, and provide a better basis for policy decisions."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is hosting the three-day G8 summit
in Heiligendamm from Wednesday, will urge leaders to take an ambitious
step forward on climate change, notably seeking a commitment to accept
limits on the emission of greenhouse gases.
Source: Agence France-Presse