Events
Global warming continues to influence the climate. A recent report says that ice on the southern, colder part of the Antarctic Peninsula has been melting for the past 63 years. Researchers attribute this to global warming. The report contains the results of observations: maps, photographs, satellite images. The information collected shows that the rate of disappearance of floating ice shelf is increasing in the south of the peninsula, repeating the history of the north side. The study was organized by the US Geological Committee.
The importance of these observations is undeniable. The disappearance of shelf ice gives access to glaciers located near the coast. Thus, ice from them falls from an enclosed space into the open sea. In turn, this process leads to the fact that the water level in the seas rises, which threatens to sink the coastlines of continents and islands.
According to Jane Ferrigno of the Geological Committee, head of the study conducted jointly with the German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy and the British research institute, the process of ice disappearance is moving south. “The most notable and dramatic changes seen in the Palmer Land area are the retreat of George VI, Wilkins, Bach and North Steinge ice shelves,” Ferrigno says.
In 2002, the Larsen Glacier, located in the northeastern part of the peninsula, melted an area of 3,250 square kilometers as a result of constant collapse. The same amount of ice melted over the course of 12 years on the Wilkins Glacier on the southwest side of the peninsula. Wilkins' floating ice sheets were mentioned in the news last year when the ice bridge connecting Charcot Island to the main land failed and collapsed. According to Ferriño, when ice bridges are destroyed, the entire shelf becomes vulnerable. And since the glacier is moving to a side where ice no longer forms, the probability of its recovery is negligible.
According to researchers Eric Rigno of the University of California, the reasons for this phenomenon are not at all a mystery. “This is perfectly consistent with the change in air temperature,” he says.
Despite the fact that the report contains information on the state of hard-to-reach places on the planet, it does not give a complete picture of what is happening. The reason is this: the pictures were taken at a certain time and show a slow sequence of changes at different intervals. Thus, scientists can identify general trends of change, but they don't see what's going on between these time intervals.
According to Ferrigno, it is not clear whether this trend will spread to the rest of Antarctica. Many scientists are working on this issue.
Despite everything, this report is important because it gives an idea of the changes that are taking place on ice shelves. Only the Geological Committee could do this task.