WASHINGTON: A novel study proposes that climate change is affecting Antarctica more than all the previous assumptions of scientists. Climate experts found that Totten glacier is rapidly meting due to large amount of warm water present beneath it. The sudden rise in melting ice of the glacier would probably increase sea level up to 25 percent in the United States. However, the sea level is expected to rise in an uneven manner because of gravitational force.
During a recent study, researchers have come across a valley under Totten Glacier, a rapidly-changing glacier in East Antarctica. According to the researchers, this newly discovered valley is speeding up the melting process of the glacier by delivering warm water to its base.
Due to this intrusion of warm seawater Totten is melting and slimming down more rapidly than ever before. The glacier, which is currently 30 km wide and 65 km long, contains enough ice to raise sea levels by 3.5m.
For those who don’t know: Totten is a major outlet for the much talked about East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), the ice sheet covering 98% of Earth’s southernmost continent Antarctica.
he temperature of seawater is changing quickly due to climate change; scientists have predicted that the next century will see 1 m rise in sea levels due to this growing temperature of seawater. The current situation is suggesting that Totten might play a big role in this change.
The study on the status and future of Totten Glacier has been published in the March 16 edition of the journal Nature Geoscience. The study has been conducted by scientists representing different institutions in France, Australia, the UK and the US; the most prominent name among them is Imperial College London.
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