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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Antarctica Ice Loss Faster Than Ten Years Ago


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The Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in western Antarctica (above) has been losing ice rapidly in the past ten years, a new study shows.

Satellite measurements of the continent reveal that ice loss has increased in western Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula about 75 percent, from 112 gigatons of ice per year in 1996 to 196 gigatons of ice per year in 2006.

The phenomenon may already be contributing to sea level rise, experts say.

Photograph courtesy Jonathan Bamber