Thinning ice
EU–(ENEWSPF)–12 December 2013. Three years of observations by ESAâs CryoSat satellite show that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing over 150 cubic kilometres of ice each year â considerably more than when last surveyed.
The imbalance in West Antarctica continues to be dominated by ice losses from glaciers flowing into the Amundsen Sea.
âWe find that ice thinning continues to be most pronounced along fast-flowing ice streams of this sector and their tributaries, with thinning rates of between 4â8 m per year near to the grounding lines â where the ice streams lift up off the land and begin to float out over the ocean â of the Pine Island, Thwaites and Smith Glaciers,â said Dr Malcolm McMillan from the University of Leeds, UK.
Melting of ice sheets that blanket Antarctica and Greenland is a major contributor to global sea-level rise.
An international team of polar scientists had recently concluded that West Antarctica caused global sea levels to rise by 0.28 mm each year between 2005 and 2010, based on observations from 10 different satellite missions. But the latest research from CryoSat suggests that the sea level contribution from this area is now 15% higher.
