Study Shows Rapid, Complex Changes In West Antarctic Ice Sheet

[hatrack]

SAN FRANCISCO – "An Ohio State University study has revealed a complex picture of change that is occurring in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Scientists here are calibrating data from NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), and using the satellite to study the ice streams that carry ice from the interior of the WAIS out to sea.

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According to the ICESat data, some WAIS ice streams are thickening and others are thinning; some are flowing faster than before, and others are slowing down.

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The Whillans Ice Stream -- named after late Ohio State glaciologist Ian Whillans -- is slowing down, the Ohio State researchers reported. Upstream, parts of the ice stream are thinning, while downstream, parts are thickening. 'The flow has slowed and it’s showing signs of shutting down,' van der Veen said. 'When that happens, the flow of ice from the interior of that region will basically stop, as happened to the neighboring Kamb Ice Stream, which came to a virtual standstill some 150 years ago.'

Meanwhile, van der Veen’s namesake ice stream has shown even more complex behavior. It appears to have stopped thinning and is now is gaining mass. The Kamb Ice Stream is also expanding, and showing signs that its flow will increase. Taken together, this activity amounts to a great deal of change for the region, all within five short years, said Csatho. 'These are really big changes,' van der Veen concurred. “So the question we have to ask now is, why?'"

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http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/icecalli1.htm

[hedda_foil]

1. I think "why now?" is readily apparent. The real question is ...

"What's coming next?"

[happyslug]

2. And it is only the start of Summer down there.

Remember our Winter is their Summer, so the highest amount of Sunlight will hit Antarctica starting now through the start of January. Than you have the equivalent of our (Northern Hemisphere) June and July sunlight down there. What will this do to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet?