Antarctic ice will melt quickly in the next decades

New research results published by British, German and US scientists say the melting situation in Antarctica, which is considered the leading threat to sea level rise, will continue for even decades. century.

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The new work, published in the journal Science, focuses on research on the Antarctic Pine Island glacier, where ice melting speed has increased rapidly over the past 20 years as sea water warms up with warming. in the ocean.

Terra Nova Bay Scene in Antarctica.(Photo: Yonhap / TTXVN)

Based on new geological investigations and the results of dating rocks exposed by melting ice, scientists concluded that the same phenomenon had occurred thousands of years ago. Accordingly, about 8,000 years ago, these glaciers had melted for tens to hundreds of years, causing the thickness of the icebergs to average more than 100cm per year, similar to the current melt level.

From this result, scientists identified the Pine Island glacier that had experienced a period of rapid melting at least once in the past, and once started, this situation could last for centuries.

Last month, the Climate Change magazine published a report that glaciers are melting and will cause sea levels to rise by 1cm within 20 years. About 20% of ice falls in West Antarctica is the "work" of glaciers with floating ice blocks above.

On average during the period of 1992-2011, these glaciers carried about 20 tons of ice each year. However, scientists predict that this loss of ice will increase further and may rise above 100 billion tons a year.