Cartographic Study Shows the Retreat of Glacier Fronts in West Antarctica
27.05.2005 - Other
The first comprehensive study of glaciers around the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula revealed the real impact of recent climate change.
Results from the study by researchers at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published in April in the journal Science, showed that over the last 50 years 87% of 244 glaciers studied had retreated, and that average retreat rates had accelerated.
BAS and USGS analysed more than 2000 aerial photographs dating from 1940, and over 100 satellite images from the 1960s onwards, to calculate the position of glacier fronts along the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. These historical records reveal previously unknown patterns of change.
Find out more at the BAS website.
