A troubling new study has many scientists fretting over the state of Antarctica’s glaciers. A group of large glaciers on the southern end of the Antarctic Peninsula that were thought to be stable have in fact been melting rapidly since 2009. The study details how the glaciers have been steadily thinning and crumbling, some shrinking by as much as 13 feet per year.
“Out of the blue, it’s become the second most important contributor to sea level rise in Antarctica,” Bret Wouters, lead study author, told Live Science. Prior to the study, the glaciers that run along the 466-mile-long coastline on the southern part of the Antarctic Peninsula were thought to be stable, and were ignored by scientists working in the region.
The part of the study that really has scientists worrying is just how rapidly the melting started. When an analysis of satellite data uncovered the region as a potential melting hotspot, the group of researchers behind the study decided to carefully examine the region. According to the study, the region is losing 56 billion metric tons of ice per year. If melted completely, the thinning glaciers would raise sea level by another 14 inches.
The new study comes hot on the heels of a string of similar reports from last week, detailing how the Larsen C and Larsen B ice shelves are in danger of completely melting in the next decade. The Washington Post reports that NASA scientists expect the Larsen B ice shelf to last no longer than 2020, and the Larsen C ice shelf to be at “imminent risk” as well.
