The Uncertain Timeline of West Antarctic Ice Sheet Collapse and Sea Level Rise
By
fleahunter
Front-window bakery material. Catches the eye, delivers the goods.
Summary
The article examines the critical question of when and how quickly the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will collapse, which holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 5 meters. It discusses NASA's 2014 announcement that the ice sheet has reached a point of irreversible retreat, with glaciers losing ice faster than snowfall can replenish them. The piece explores the scientific uncertainty around the timing and speed of this collapse, which would cause significant sea level rise and coastal inundation worldwide.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledIn May 2014, NASA announced at a press conference that a portion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet appeared to have reached a point of irreversible retreat.
Glaciers flowing toward the sea at the periphery of the 2-kilometer-thick sheet of ice were losing ice faster than snowfall could replenish them, causing their edges to recede inland.
With that, the question was no longer whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would disappear, but when.
When those glaciers go, sea levels will rise by more than a meter, inundating land currently home to millions of people.
The uniquely vulnerable West Antarctic Ice Sheet holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 5 meters. But when that will happen — and how fast — is anything but settled.
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