News from Australia ~ Antarctic ice sheet losing mass
◙ Republic of Australia ☻☺☻
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/23/2750931.htm?section=justin
A new study has found the east Antarctic iceshelf, which sits behind
Australia's Casey Station, has lost billions of metric tons of ice in
the past three years.
Researchers from the University of Texas have been studying the ocean-
icesheet interaction in Antarctica for the past seven years.
They have found that since 2006, the east Antarctic icesheet is losing
more ice than it is gaining.
The majority of the loss is in coastal regions and is estimated at 57
billion metric tons a year.
The Australian Antarctic Division's Dr Roland Warner says the study
confirms Antarctica is contributing to a rise in global sea levels.
"This is confirming the sorts of things that one would expect in a
warming world and the fact that this Antarctic system is not in some
exact equilibrium at the moment, is in fact losing ice into the ocean,
is an indication that things are changing," he said.
"That's contributing to half a millimeter of sea level rise per year."
It is estimated that sea levels are rising a total of three
millimetres a year.
The study also found the smaller but less stable West Antarctic ice
sheet is also shedding significant amounts of ice.
Scientists used twin satellites to detect mass flows in the ocean by
measuring changes in the Earth's gravity field.
And while they found significant losses in both east and west
Antarctica, they warn the satellites do have a margin for error.
Dr Warner says scientists are also studying changes to ice sheets.
"The Totten Glacier and the enormous catchment area it has south is
the subject of a big Australian seal program to measure accurately the
geometry and the character of the ice," he said.
"We will be able to make more reliable computer models to project what
might happen in the future."
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HOOROO
UNCLE WALLY
Mario in UK
wrote:
So in 30.000 years time we all die....
my nails are growing 3 mm per week...
cheers
Mario
www.propheties.it