Credit: British Antarctic Survey
Hot news from the Far South. Hundreds of glaciers flowing off the Antarctic Peninsula have sped up, dumping ever more ice into the ocean and contributing significantly to the rise in worldwide sea level.
The new study by the British Antarctic Survey used satellite images to track the flow rate of 300 glaciers no one had studied before and found the startling results. Antarctic melt may be contributing as much to sea level rise as Alaska.
The new study add details to an alarming picture of an icy habitat in fast transition: the Antarctic Peninsula was already showing dramatic increases in summer melt and ice shelf retreat.
Blame climate warming, the scientists reported in a news release about the study.
“The Antarctic Peninsula has experienced some of the fastest warming on Earth, nearly 3 °C over the last half-century,” said lead author Dr. Hamish Pritchard, in the release. “Eighty-seven percent of its glaciers have been retreating during this period and now we see these glaciers are also speeding up.”