The glaciers of West Antarctica play a crucial role in the rise of the world’s oceans, according to scientists studying the region. They contain enough water to raise global sea levels by more than one meter.
In just 25 years, more than 3,000 billion tonnes of ice have melted in the Amundsen Sea Embayment, the fastest-changing region in the Antarctic.
If this quantity of ice was placed on London, it would reach a height of 2 kilometers, which is over seven times the height of the Shard, according to research conducted by the University of Leeds.
The Empire State Building would be buried 137 times under 61 kilometers of ice and snow on Manhattan.
West Antarctica’s Amundsen Sea Embayment has 20 main glaciers and covers four times the UK’s size.
It has a significant impact on the level of the world’s oceans.
If all its glaciers melted, world sea levels would rise by more than a meter.
The investigation, which was published in Nature Communications, determined the “mass balance” of the Amundsen Sea Embayment.
It defines the balance between snowfall and calving, which forms icebergs at glacier termini and floats out to sea.
The Embayment loses mass when ice melts faster than snowfall, raising world sea levels.
If the quantity of snowfall decreased, the outcome would not change.
Between 1996 and 2021, 3,331 billion tonnes of ice declined, rising sea levels by over nine millimeters.
Dr. Benjamin Davison, who conducted the study, cautioned that there is “no indication that the process will reverse shortly,” although there were “periods when the rate of mass loss did ease slightly.”
“Scientists are watching the Amundsen Sea Embayment because of its crucial role in sea-level rise,” he said.
If sea levels rise, many towns will flood.
Importance of heavy precipitation occurrences
During the 25-year study period, the Amundsen Sea Embayment experienced several extreme snowfall events. As identified by scientists observing the global circulation of air currents.
These regions would experience intense snowfall or, conversely, a snow dearth.
Models revealed a period of persistently low snowfall, or “snow drought,” between 2009 and 2013.
This lack of snowfall led the ice sheet to lose ice and contribute 25% more to sea level rise than average years.
In contrast, 2019 and 2020 experienced exceptionally significant snowfall.
Scientists estimate that this precipitation reduced the Amundsen Sea Embayment’s contribution to sea level rise to about half of what it would have been in an average year.
Satellites such as the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite of the European Space Agency, which utilizes sensors that can see through clouds even during the long polar night, have revolutionized scientists’ ability to monitor remote regions and the immensely rapid change occurring in Antarctica.
