Antarctic Ice Sheets Are Capable Of Melting Much Faster Than Previously Thought

At the end of last ice age, Antarctic ice sheets retreated at speeds of up to 50 meters (164 feet) a day. Researchers have found that is about ten times quicker than the fastest retreating sheets of today.

Studying patterns of wave-like ridges on the Antarctic seafloor, scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge found that some 12,000 years ago, ice retreated at speeds in excess of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) a year which is way more rapid than today's retreat rates, which are calculated using satellite data.

Reuters

Researchers warn that due to climate change, we could soon see similar levels of ice retreat more than we thought possible and it could have an impact on global sea levels.

Researchers from the Weddell Sea Expedition found Larsen Ice Shelf, east of the Antarctic Peninsula that originally covered an area of 33,000 square miles, has shrunk rapidly, as air temperatures warmed in the second half of the 20th century.

According to CNN, parts of the shelf have disintegrated and broken away, and in 2017 around 12% of the remaining lower middle section of the shelf broke away as a single massive iceberg, measuring some 2,240 square miles.

EPA

"We saw these absolutely beautiful delicate patterns of backstepping sets of very small ridges spaced about 20 to 25 meters apart and about half a meter high," CNN quoted Julian Dowdeswell, director of the Scott Polar Research Institute, as saying.

Report states that ¡®by examining the footprint of the ice sheet and sets of ridges on the seafloor, the team was able to find new evidence of past ice retreats, published in Science journal Thursday, which were faster than those observed in even the most sensitive part of Antarctica today¡¯.

"We now know that the ice is capable of retreating at speeds far higher than what we see today. Should climate change continue to weaken the ice shelves in the coming decades, we could see similar rates of retreat, with profound implications for global sea level rise," Dowdeswell reportedly said.

Representative Image/Reuters

He further said, "What the geological record is showing is rates of change can be significantly faster than the fastest rates that we've observed in the satellite record, which of course means that ice can in principle be decanted back into the ocean faster than we thought - with implications for sea level rise.¡±

Experts have previously warned that over the next few decades, millions of people around the world are at risk of losing their homes as entire cities might sink, as sea levels rise.