glacier
Ice Shelf Holding Back Antarctic Glacier Breaking Up
The ice shelf that holds Antarctica’s massive Pine Island Glacier from collapsing into the Southern Ocean is breaking up faster than before as climate change weakens the natural barriers to glacial melting, a new study finds. The research raises alarms over the potential for further accelerated sea level rise. The Pine Island Glacier holds about 160 trillion …
Ice shelf protecting Antarctic glacier is breaking up faster
A critical Antarctic glacier is looking more vulnerable as satellite images show the ice shelf that blocks it from collapsing into the sea is breaking up much faster than before and spawning huge icebergs, a new study says. The Pine Island Glacier’s ice shelf loss accelerated in 2017, causing scientists to worry that with climate …
Thwaites: ‘Doomsday Glacier’ vulnerability seen in new maps
Image copyright Alex Mazur Image caption The icebreaker, the Nathaniel B Palmer, mapped more than 2,000 sq km of seafloor in front of the glacier Scientists may just have identified Thwaites Glacier’s Achilles heel. This Antarctic colossus is melting at a rapid rate, dumping billions of tonnes of ice in the ocean every year and …
From a glacier break to record temperatures, Antarctica had quite the week in climate change
This week, an iceberg the size of Atlanta broke off a glacier. Researchers discovered a dramatic decline in Antarctic penguin colonies. And Antarctica may have just registered its hottest temperature ever. In case all of that was not enough to make you at least a little concerned, yet another unusually high temperature was logged in …
Antarctica melting: Climate change and the journey to the ‘doomsday glacier’
The images are murky at first. Sediment sweeps past the camera as Icefin, a bright yellow remotely operated robot submarine, moves tentatively forward under the ice. Then the waters begin to clear. Icefin is under almost half a mile (600m) of ice, at the front of one the fastest-changing large glaciers in the world. Suddenly …
Denman Glacier: Deepest point on land found in Antarctica
Image copyright BedMachine/UCI/BAS Image caption Denman’s deep trough (dark blue) is 20km wide and 100km long – all filled with ice The deepest point on continental Earth has been identified in East Antarctica, under Denman Glacier. This ice-filled canyon reaches 3.5km (11,500ft) below sea level. Only the great ocean trenches go deeper. The discovery is …
Amazon fires intensify Andes glacier melt
Image copyright Getty Images Smoke from burning forests in the Amazon can intensify glacier melt, researchers say, fuelling concern about a water crisis in South America. The team found evidence that snow and ice was being “darkened”, accelerating the melt rate, threatening supplies. Melting tropical glaciers provide water for millions of people in the region. …
Images reveal Iceland’s glacier melt
Image copyright Iceland met office Image caption These images Breiðamerkurjökull glacier taken in 1989 (top) and one taken this year (bottom) show how much ice has been lost over this period A photography project has highlighted the extent of ice loss from Iceland’s glaciers. A team from Scotland and Iceland compared photographs taken in the …
Prince William calls for climate change action on glacier visit
Image copyright Neil Hall/EPA Image caption The duke and duchess were accompanied by glacier expert Dr Furrukh Bashir The Duke of Cambridge says more education and political action is needed to tackle climate change, as he visited a melting glacier in Pakistan. The trip to a remote mountain location in the north of the country …
Mont Blanc: Glacier in danger of collapse, experts warn
Image copyright Comune Courmayeur Image caption Officials in Courmayeur highlighted in yellow the area of the glacier at risk of collapse Italian authorities have closed roads and evacuated mountain huts after experts warned that part of a glacier on Mont Blanc could collapse. About 250,000 cubic metres of ice are in danger of breaking away …