NASA scientists on alert for accelerating loss of platforms and ice in Antarctica

Scientists remain alert due to Antarctic shelf and ice loss, which is accelerating clear / (Molina / Archive)

This is not the first time that it has been Scientists Impact Warning Global Warming On the Antarctica. Now, two studies by researchers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory subordinate Container Beware of acceleration loss of platforms s Antarctica ice. In addition, they indicated that this situation will affect the Global sea level riseas such The white continent’s ice sheet has “lost mass in recent decades” with “an iceberg generating twice as much as previous estimates”.

The first works published in the magazine temper natureit’s luck a map Shows “How the birth of an iceberg (the separation of ice from an ice front) has changed the coast of Antarctica in the last 25 years”, where The edge of the ice sheet separates into these frozen shapes “faster than it can be replaced”.

While the second that was broadcast in Earth system science datain great detail “How Ice thinning in AntarcticaWhen ocean water melts, it spreads from the outer edges of the continent into its interior, almost double In the western parts of the ice sheet in the last decade.

Scientists have warned that
The scientists warned that “when the ice sheets shrink and weaken, the massive glaciers on the continent tend to accelerate and increase the rate of global sea level rise.”

definitely , Chad Greenthe study’s lead author and JPL scientist, described what’s happening in Antarctica:Antarctica is collapsing“.”As ice shelves shrink and weaken, the continent’s massive glaciers tend to accelerate and increase the rate of global sea level rise.‘ the expert noted.

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As the scholars warned,Most Antarctic glaciers empty into the ocean, where they end in floating shelves of ice up to 3 kilometers (2 mi) thick and 800 kilometers (500 mi) wide.“, being” ice pads They act like trussesFrom these structuresPrevent the ice from simply sliding into the ocean“.

NASA scientists were able to measure the thinning of the ice by measuring its variable height / (EFE / Federico Anfitti / File)
NASA scientists were able to measure the thinning of the ice by measuring its variable height / (EFE / Federico Anfitti / File)

However, when you are formations “We are stableThey have natural cycle of birth and resupply that keep its volume fairly constant over the long term”, but in recent decades “The ocean was warming destabilization of Antarctic ice shelves By melting it from below, making it more slim s weak“.

To detect this situation on the white continent, researchers used satellite altimeters which I was able to measure the process of ice thinning by measuring its changing height. However, until this study, satellite images had not been used for this type of analysis, because “it was difficult to interpret.”

for researchers, "It is unlikely that Antarctica will be able to grow back to what it was before 2000 by the end of this century" / (Getty Images)
For the researchers, “It is unlikely that Antarctica will be able to grow back to what it was before 2000 by the end of this century” / (Getty Images)

“For example, you could imagine looking at a satellite image and trying to tell the difference between a white iceberg, a white ice shelf, white sea ice, and even a white cloud. This has always been a difficult task,” Green said, noting that “We now have enough data from multiple satellite sensors to see a clear picture of how the coast of Antarctica has evolved in recent years“.

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As the experts explained, they compiled this study Satellite images of the continent “in visible, thermal, infrared (heat) and radar wavelengths from 1997” combined these measurements further “By understanding the ice flow gained from a NASA glacier mapping project, they mapped the edges of ice shelves about 30,000 linear miles (50,000 km) off the coast of Antarctica.”

The data collected allowed scientists to find out
The data collected allowed scientists to see “how long-term trends and annual weather patterns affect ice” / (file)

The results alerted experts, that birth losses have so far outpaced the natural growth of the ice shelf that “It is unlikely that Antarctica will be able to grow back to what it was before 2000 by the end of this centuryMoreover, they emphasized that this information indicates that “larger losses can be expected: the largest ice shelves in Antarctica appear to be heading for major calving events in the next 10-20 years.”

At work, scientists warned about it This result doubles previous estimates of ice loss from floating ice shelves in Antarctica since 1997, from 6 billion to 12 billion metric tons”, as Ice loss from calving has weakened the ice shelves and allowed Antarctic glaciers to flow more rapidly into the ocean, accelerating the global rate of sea level rise..

The researchers warned that
The researchers warned that “ice loss from calving has weakened the ice shelves and allowed Antarctic glaciers to flow more rapidly into the ocean.” / (Jeremy Harbeck/OIB/NASA)

As for the second work, which the scholars calledcomplementary‘, was based on Analysis of “nearly 3 billion data points from seven space-borne altimeters to produce the longest continuous data set on ice sheet elevation change, an indicator of ice loss, since 1985.” For this information, The researchers had to “compile and analyze the massive measurement files into one high-resolution data set that took years of work and thousands of hours of computation time on NASA servers.”

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To obtain this information, the scientists used aRadar and laser measurements of ice height with centimeter accuracyIn this way they were able to “produce monthly maps of ice loss change at the highest resolution ever made.” In this sense, they explain The data collected allowed them to see “how long-term trends and annual weather patterns affect the ice.”which also shows “the rise and fall of the ice sheet as subglacial lakes regularly fill up and empty miles below the surface”.

Minor changes Like these, in combination with better understanding Long-term trends in this data set will help researchers Understand the processes that affect ice loss“It will lead to better future estimates of sea level rise,” said the study’s lead author and JPL member Johan Nilsson. “Condensing the data into something more useful at scale could bring us closer to the breakthroughs we need to better understand our planet and help us prepare for the future impacts of climate change.‘, he finished.

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