Antarctica is fade at an unprecedented pace . Between 1979 and 2017 , Antarctic methamphetamine loss increase by a cistron of six , causing ocean levels to rise by half an column inch . That ’s agree to a new study recently published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
An international team of scientist from the University of California , Irvine ( UCI ) , NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory ( JPL ) , and Utrecht University in the Netherlands conducted the “ farsighted - ever assessment of stay Antarctic methamphetamine hydrochloride slew ” . The squad looked at airy and satellite figure of 18 Antarctic regions , which included 176 basins and some border islands , to see how they had changed over the retiring four decades .
They describe that from 1979 to 1990 , Antarctica fall back about 40 billion tonnes ( 44 billion ton ) of ice each year . While this is certainly a lot , from 2009 to 2017 this number increased to an unthinkable 252 billion metric ton ( 278 billion tons ) . It seems that after tardily lift between 1979 and 2001 , the rate of ice loss suddenly jumped by 280 percentage between 2001 and 2017 .
This ice loss contributes to ocean stage ascent , and the squad found that Antarctica ’s melting trash caused ocean levels around the world to develop by 1.27 centimeters ( 0.5 inch ) during the decades focused on in the field of study .
" That ’s just the tip of the iceberg , so to speak , " said lead author Eric Rignot , a professor at UCI and senior project scientist at the JPL , in astatement . " As the Antarctic ice sheet continues to meld away , we expect multi - meter ocean level hike from Antarctica in the come centuries . "
Somewhat unexpectedly , the researchers also find that East Antarctica is an important contributor to ice rink loss , more so than we thought . A study from last year found little to no loss of ice from East Antarctica , notes theAssociated Press .
" The Wilkes Land sphere of East Antarctica has , overall , always been an important participant in the mass loss , even as far back as the 1980s , as our enquiry has shown , " state Rignot . " This region is probably more raw to climate [ change ] than has traditionally been assumed , and that ’s important to know , because it hold even more ice than West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula together . "
It ’s no secret that the frozen continent is melt more rapidly now due to human being - induced global thawing . To prevent clime catastrophe , we urgently need to reduce ourgreenhouse gas emissionsby switch torenewable , non - polluting fuel .
" As climate warming and ozone depletion send more ocean heat toward [ the sectors of Antarctica losing the most ice ] , they will continue to contribute to sea level rise from Antarctica in decade to come , " Rignot say .
