Researchers demonstrate new link between greenhousegases and sealevelrise BAS_News theAGU
Ice loss from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Amundsen Sea is one of the fastest growing and most concerning contributions to global sea level rise. If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt, global sea levels could rise by up to three meters. The patterns of ice loss suggest that the ocean may have been warming in the Amundsen Sea over the past one hundred years, but scientific observations of the region only began in 1994.
The simulations show the Amundsen Sea generally became warmer over the century. This warming corresponds with simulated trends in wind patterns in the region that increase temperatures by driving warm water currents towards and beneath the ice. Rising greenhouse gases are known to make these wind patterns more likely, and so the trend in winds is thought to be caused in part by human activity.
This study supports theories that ocean temperatures in the Amundsen Sea have been rising since before records began. It also provides the missing link between ocean warming and wind trends that are known to be partly driven by greenhouse gases. Ocean temperatures around the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will probably continue to rise if