Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet after local destabilization of the Amundsen Basin
The Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing mass at an accelerating rate, and playing a more important role in terms of global sea-level rise. The Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica has most likely been destabilized. Although previous numerical modeling studies examined the short-term future evolution of...
| Published in: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
National Academy of Sciences
2015
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4655561/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26578762 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1512482112 |
| Summary: | The Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing mass at an accelerating rate, and playing a more important role in terms of global sea-level rise. The Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica has most likely been destabilized. Although previous numerical modeling studies examined the short-term future evolution of this region, here we take the next step and simulate the long-term evolution of the whole West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Our results show that if the Amundsen Sea sector is destabilized, then the entire marine ice sheet will discharge into the ocean, causing a global sea-level rise of about 3 m. We thus might be witnessing the beginning of a period of self-sustained ice discharge from West Antarctica that requires long-term global adaptation of coastal protection. |
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