For years, we've been warned the mighty frozen continent is melting. Now, two separate studies paint a sobering picture of what's being described as an irreversible, unstoppable thaw. A glacier system in western Antarctica, previously thought to be stable, has started to retreat. This NASA simulation shows the six big glaciers in the Amundsen Sea that are being affected.
And the reason, say the researchers, is global warming. The glaciers sit on the continental shelf below sea level. War motion waters causing ice along the coast to thin from beneath. And as that melts, the ice above retreats into the sea. The six glaciers in question hold enough ice to raise global sea levels by 1.2 metres.
But their disappearance would also destabilise neighbouring sectors of the ice sheet. If it prolongs into the collapse of the whole West Antarctic ice sheet, we're talking about 10 to 15 feet, this is going to affect millions, if not billions of people around the coastline throughout the world. And it's areas such as these that are most threatened.
Every year, people in small islands in the Pacific and low-lying coastal nations see their land gradually disappearing. The fear is that one day, all of it will be gone. will be underwater. Most scientists agree that a rise in ocean levels is inevitable given our current trajectory, but they're urging people and governments to do as much as possible to slow down that process. Gerald Tan, Al Jazeera.