Global Warming Responsible for Disappearing Ice Shelves on Antarctic Peninsula
24.02.2010 - Water & Oceans, Ice & Snow, Antarctic
The southern part of the Antarctic Peninsula is witnessing widespread ice shelf retreat as a consequence of global warming according to research by the US Geological Survey. The peninsula, which is home to five major ice shelves, has been witnessing overall ice shelf retreat from 1947 to 2009, with the most dramatic changes occurring since 1990.
As the part of Antarctica the farthest away from the South Pole, the peninsula is one of Antarctica’s most rapidly changing areas and its ice shelf loss may be a forecast of changes in other parts of Antarctica under continued warming. Overall retreat along the southern part of the Peninsula is of particular interest because that area has the Peninsula’s coolest temperatures and thus demonstrates that global warming is affecting the entire length of the Peninsula.
The consequences of the ice shelves breaking off could be far-reaching, as ice moving from land to the ocean is what raises sea levels - a major threat to coastal communities and low-lying islands worldwide.
As part of a larger ongoing USGS project, this project helps draw a picture of the situation on the entire Antarctic coastline in detail. Since Antarctica houses 91%of Earth’s land ice, studies there are crucial and underline the necessity to continuously monitor the changes in the Earth’s climate systems.
