Glaciers in West Antarctica are moving more quickly from land into the ocean, contributing to rising global sea levels.
Glaciers in West Antarctica are moving more quickly from land into the ocean, contributing to rising global sea levels.
A 25-year record of satellite observations has been used to show widespread increases in ice speed across the Getz sector for the first time, with some ice accelerating into the ocean by nearly 50%.
The new study, led by the University of Leeds, reports that 14 glaciers in the Getz region are thinning and flowing more quickly into the ocean. Between 1994 and 2018, 315 gigatonnes of ice has been lost, adding 0.9 mm to global mean sea level – equivalent to 126 million Olympic swimming pools of water.
The results, published in the journal Nature Communications, show that, on average, the speed of all 14 glaciers has increased by almost a quarter with three glaciers’ speeding up by more than 44%.
Read more at University of Leeds
Photo Credit: 12019 via Pixabay
