History Repeats Itself: Sea Levels on the Riseby | 12-01-2017 12:08 |
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Will history repeat itself with sea levels rising at alarming levels due to ice melts in the Antarctic? Climate researchers see a disturbing occurrence taking place that previously happened nearly 15,000 years ago. The result at that time was sea levels rising three meters in just a few hundred years. Changes in the atmospheric-oceanic circulation leads to a layering of cold water near the surface and a warm layer below which causes ice sheets to melt at a stronger rate. A contributing factor is global warming. These concerns have been written about in article after article for years: glaciers melting and sea levels rising. Now, we have a giant iceberg that is 5,000 square kilometers set to calve, or break away, from an ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. This could cause the entire ice shelf to collapse. Without this protective ice shelf, glaciers behind it are more susceptible to an acceleration of calving and larger volumes of ice will enter the ocean and contribute to sea level rise. It is a chilling thought that perhaps we have reached a point of no return. |
