– Here are three articles which all came out within a day of each other – all on glaciers, sea ice, warming oceans and melting. Melting going on everywhere.
Antarctic Glaciers’ Sloughing Of Ice Has Scientists at a Loss
Some of the largest glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland are moving in unusual ways and are losing increased amounts of ice to the sea, researchers said yesterday.
Although the changes in Greenland appear to be related to global warming, it remains unclear what is causing the glaciers of frigid Antarctica and their “ice streams” to lose ice to the ocean in recent years, the researchers said.
More… ➡
Arctic Sea Ice Decline May Trigger Climate Change Cascade
Science Daily — Arctic sea ice that has been dwindling for several decades may have reached a tipping point that could trigger a cascade of climate change reaching into Earth’s temperate regions, says a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.
Mark Serreze, a senior research scientist at CU-Boulder’s National Snow and Ice Data Center who led the study synthesizing results from recent research, said the Arctic sea-ice extent trend has been negative in every month since 1979, when concerted satellite record keeping efforts began. The team attributed the loss of ice, about 38,000 square miles annually as measured each September, to rising concentrations of greenhouse gases and strong natural variability in Arctic sea ice.
More… ➡
Warming Oceans Threaten Antarctic Glaciers
Science Daily — Scientists have identified four Antarctic glaciers that pose a threat to future sea levels using satellite observations, according to a study published in the journal Science.
Experts from the University of Edinburgh and University College London determined the effect that Antarctica and Greenland were having on global sea level in a comprehensive evaluation of the Earth’s ice sheets. They found that together these two ice-sheets were responsible for a sea level rise of 0.35 millimetres per year over the past decade — representing about 12 per cent of the current global trend.
However, despite recent attention that has focused on the importance of the Greenland ice sheet, the research shows that its glaciers are changing too erratically to establish a trend with confidence. In contrast, four major glaciers in East and West Antarctica were shown to be retreating in unison, raising concerns that global sea level could rapidly rise if the oceans continue to warm.
More… ➡