Sea Level Rising
In 2002, The Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica broke up. It had been regarded as stable up until then. These were already in the water, and hense did not raise the sea level. However two studies, from NASA and another climate research group, report that the Larsen B and shelves like it are responsible for holding back glacial ice that can and has raised the sea level.
From ABC News
It was not clear how the loss of the Larsen B ice shelf would affect nearby glaciers.
But soon after its collapse, researchers saw nearby glaciers flowing up to eight times faster than before.
“If anyone was waiting to find out whether Antarctica would respond quickly to climate warming, I think the answer is ‘yes’,” Theodore Scambos, a University of Colorado glacier expert who worked on one study, said.
“We’ve seen 240 kilometres of coastline change drastically in just 15 years.”
The affected area is at the far northern tip of the Antarctic, just south of Chile and Argentina.
Temperatures there have risen by up to 2.5 degrees Celcius in the past 60 years – faster than almost any region in the world.
In the past 30 years, ice shelves in the region have lost more than 13,500 square kilometres of area.
