The latest research in the scientific community has found that the current amount of Antarctic ice melting per year has increased by approximately 80 billion tons compared with 1996. Experts used artificial satellites to conduct measurements, and the results showed that the ice and snow in the western half of Antarctica are disappearing 140% faster than ten years ago.
Earlier research suggested that total Antarctic ice volume is expected to increase over the next 100 years due to heavier snowfall. But the latest research overturns this assumption.
At present, the annual ice and snow loss in Antarctica is estimated to be 196 billion tons; the area with the most serious losses is West Antarctica. In 2006, the loss was estimated to be 132 billion tons. Compared with The loss in 1996 was 8.3 billion tons, and an increase of 49 billion tons was needed.
In the "Antarctic Peninsula", ice and snow are disappearing even faster, and the loss is estimated to have increased from 25 billion tons to 60 billion tons. Ice loss in East Antarctica is believed to be much lower, at 4 billion tons per year, and has not changed since 1996.
An international team of scientists is currently observing changes in ice and snow cover on 85% of Antarctica's coasts. Bristol, UKUniversityProfessor Bangma said that scientists conducted local observations and found considerable and dramatic changes in the thickness of the ice, which shows that changes in the climate system will soon affect the Antarctic ice.
Bomma said this observation further supports a global trend in which mountains, Greenland, Patagonia andAlaskaThe glaciers are shrinking.
Bangma said that although it is impossible to determine the globalwarmingIt is the main culprit of the melting of glaciers, but it is believed that the loss of ice and snow in Antarctica is accelerating because of warming water temperatures, and the cause of warming water temperatures is climate change, which has also changed the world's ocean currents.
Bonma said that the increased loss of Antarctic ice and snow is partly caused by climate evolution that takes thousands of years; some of the current changes are actually the result of events that happened 12,000 years ago that affected the climate.
Temperature rises due to climate change are more pronounced in the North and South Poles than in other parts of the world, but researchers do not yet fully understand the natural mechanisms that control Antarctic ice.
Data obtained from the latest research can help the scientific community estimate how much ice and snow will be lost in the next 100 years. If sea levels rise in the next few decades, melting Antarctic ice may be the biggest cause. If Antarctic ice completely melts, it is estimated that sea levels will rise by 61 to 65 meters. In comparison, if Greenland's glaciers completely melt, sea levels will rise by seven meters.
Update date:2008/03/27 04:34
Comprehensive reporting by Pan Xun
