Antarctica's Thwaites glacier at mercy of sea warmth increase.

Antarctic glaciers may be more sensitive to changes in sea temperature than was thought, new research shows.

The British Antarctic Survey and the US Antarctic programme put sensors and an underwater robot beneath the vast Thwaites glacier to study melting.

The size of Britain, Thwaites is one of the world's fastest changing glaciers.

Its susceptibility to climate change is a major concern to scientists because if it melted completely, it would raise global sea levels by half a metre.

The new research suggests that even low amounts of melting can potentially push a glacier further along the path toward eventual disappearance.

The joint survey at Thwaites is part of one of the largest investigations ever undertaken anywhere on the White Continent.

Since the late 1990s, the glacier has seen a 14km retreat of its "grounding line" - that's the point where the ice flowing off the land and along the seabed floats up to form a huge platform.

Source: www.bbc.com

Share: