Pine Island Ice Shelf in West Antarctica, which holds back enough ice to raise sea levels by 0.5 metres, could be more vulnerable to complete disintegration than previously thought.
Pine Island Ice Shelf in West Antarctica, which holds back enough ice to raise sea levels by 0.5 metres, could be more vulnerable to complete disintegration than previously thought. A new study led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists shows two processes, whose recent enhancement already threatens the stability of the shelf can interact to increase the likelihood of collapse.
This large ice shelf (the section of the glacier that floats on the sea) controls the flow of ice from Pine Island Glacier, roughly the size of England, into the Amundsen Sea. This is a crucial role as the glacier is one of the world’s largest and fastest changing and is responsible for approximately 25% of ice loss from Antarctica. This equivalent to the amount of water in 13,000 Olympic swimming pools.
Scientists have previously observed that Pine Island Ice Shelf is becoming increasingly fragile due to two processes: enhanced thinning, as a result of an increase in ice shelf melting into the sea, and an increase in calving events in which masses of ice break off into icebergs.
Now, a team of researchers has shown that the combination of calving and melting will likely make an even greater contribution to melting of Pine Island Ice Shelf than was assumed.
Read more at British Antarctic Survey
Image: The present day ice front of Pine Island Glacier, which stands approximately 50-60 metres above the water. (Photo credit: Robert Larter)
