Scientists say the huge glacier in Antarctica is getting thinner and thinner. Glaciers around Pine Island in the West Antarctica are twice the size of Scotland, which is melting at four times faster than a decade ago.
The research results published in Geophysical Research Letters also revealed that melting ice now appears in the ice core. At this rate, scientists estimate that the main part of the iceberg will disappear in just 100 years, six times earlier than previously calculated.
The Pine Island River is located in the Antarctic's most inaccessible position - 1,000 km from the nearest research base - and has been forgotten by scientists for a long time. Now scientists have watched the development of glaciers thanks to satellite measurements over the past 15 years.
'The fact that the Pine Island glacier is getting thinner and thinner is the biggest imbalance in the world today, and we probably still don't know about this without the help of satellite devices,' said the teacher. Professor Andrew Shepherd, professor of Environment and Earth at Leeds University, and a member of the research team, said.
'The continuous collection of measurement data over the past 15 years has helped to identify significant changes as well as insidious changes in the ice that we did not know before,' he added.
The scientific group believes that the shrinkage of glaciers in this region stems from the warming of the surrounding oceans, although it is too early to relate this trend to global warming.
The area affected by melting glaciers is now up to 5,400 km2, an area large enough to cause adverse impacts on sea level rise worldwide.
'Because the Pine Island river contains enough ice to double the rate of sea level rise in the 21st century, according to IPCC calculations, scientists are now very interested in the next developments of the glacier. This, ' said Professor Shepherd.
The research was funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council.