CNN —Glaciers in East Antarctica could lose ice faster in the future than previously thought, scientists reported Friday, in an alarming feedback loop where glacier meltwater is triggering even more ice loss and sea level rise as the planet warms.
Together, these and other recent studies paint a dire picture of a melting southern continent that poses extreme risk of life-altering sea level rise around the world.
Friday’s study factored that feedback into simulations to see how much it could accelerate Antarctic melting and sea level rise.
Measuring this phenomenon and accounting for it in climate models is necessary “to get a realistic picture of global sea level rise,” Greenbaum said.
“Given this evidence, subglacial melt and discharge is a process that can no longer be ignored in future projections of Antarctica’s contribution to sea level rise,” De Rydt told CNN.
Persons:
CNN —, it’s, ”, Jamin Greenbaum, Denman, Scott, Greenbaum, ” Greenbaum, Tyler Pelle, ” Pelle, Pelle, we’re, ” Jan De Rydt, ” De Rydt, “
Organizations:
CNN, University of California San Diego’s Scripps, of Oceanography, Scripps, Northumbria University
Locations:
East Antarctica, Antarctica