| Summary: | This is a litteratur review which analyze the results from different hypotheses regarding the future massbalance of the west antarctica ice sheet. Due to the global warming many scientists believe the rising temperature may increase the melting rate of the ice sheets in West Antarctica. There have been made several studies which have investigate the melting rate of the ice sheet. Many of them have come to the conclusion that the melting rate have been increasing and that more and more ice reach the ocean in a faster speed. This is due to a faster flow rate for the ice sheet. However, it’s hard to say if this situation will continue in the future or if the system will change. Many forecast models predicts that the temperature and the precipitation will increase. It still uncertain what the consequences of this will be. According to scientist the rising temperature will be negative for the mass balance and result in a higher flow speed for the ice sheet. The higher temperature, caused by the global warming, leads to a faster melting rate. On the other hand, the increasing precipitation may change the whole system and result in a positive mass balance. If the precipitation increase, this will result in more snowfall. Because of the snowfall more ice accumulation will come and with that thickness of the ice sheet. Even if the temperature gets higher, the total effect could still be a positive mass balance for the ice sheet. According to some theories, the accumulation of the ice sheet will likely continue in the midland and the mountain areas, while the melting and negative mass balance will take place near the coast. We could see faster rising sea level, due to more melting, but on the other hand it could also be a situation where the increasing accumulation rate of the ice sheet, will slow down the speed of the rising sea level.Â
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