Thread by @weatherindia

#SeaLevel Rise Due to #Antarctica's Ice Sheet Melting 30% More than Previously Estimated: Study

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(📸: Jeremy Harbeck/NASA)

Amid a #pandemic, the #ClimateCrisis may appear a distant threat. But burgeoning scientific studies have continued to point at a riskier future with cascading impacts.

#Antartica

Among all, research suggests that the melting of the icy continent of the globe, #Antarctica, alone can create widespread devastating impact in the form of rising sea levels around the globe.

#ClimateCrisis

Now, yet another alarming study has showcased the catastrophic impact of the rising temperatures. The new research estimates that global sea-level rise linked to the melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has been significantly underestimated in the earlier studies.

#Antarctica

Therefore, the sea-level rise due to global warming could be much greater than previously anticipated, say scientists. Rising sea levels threaten island nations and coastal cities that harbour more than two billion people across the globe.

#Antarctica #ClimateCrisis

The calculations consider the water expulsion mechanism wherein the solid bedrock below the ice sheets moves upwards due to a decrease in the weight of ice. The rebound of bedrock releases a massive amount of water, and this expelled meltwater will add to global sea-level rise.

The predictions from this overall calculation have showcased that in the case of a total collapse of the ice sheet, the global sea-level rise is expected to rise by an additional metre within a thousand years of the collapse.

#Antarctica #ClimateCrisis

Moreover, the team also calculated the magnitude of sea-level rise based on the low viscosity (resistance to flow) of the mantle below the ice sheet.

#Antarctica #ClimateCrisis

It can be concluded that the impacts associated with this melt would inundate the low lying regions, islands and coastal cities in the future.

#Antarctica #ClimateCrisis