Earth  ID: 11540

Unstoppable

Story by Patrick Lynch Released on June 3, 2014
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Four feet of sea level rise from glaciers in West Antarctica now appears inevitable.
Most glaciers in West Antarctica sit on a bed that is below sea level. The massive ice sheet’s exposure to ocean water makes it inherently unstable, a fact that scientists have warned about for decades. In recent years, scientists have observed the glaciers that flow into West Antarctica's Amundsen Sea are shedding ice at a faster rate. Now, new research shows there is nothing to stop these glaciers from being lost to the ocean—an event that will likely take centuries to unfold, but raise global sea level by four feet. Watch the video to learn more.
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NASA JPL-UC Irvine glaciologist Eric Rignot explains how glaciers in West Antarctica are changing in this video.
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The six glaciers in West Antarctica's Amundsen Sea region have all accelerated since the 1990s—Pine Island and Thwaites in particular.
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This image shows the average velocities of glaciers across all of West Antarctica.
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Three-dimensional mapping of the bed beneath the ice reveals the key concern: The majority of West Antarctica sits below sea level.
 

Related Story

West Antarctic Collapse

For More Information

NASA.gov

Story Credits

Visualizers/Animators:
Cindy Starr (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
Horace Mitchell (NASA/GSFC)
Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC)

Video Editor:
Henry Kline (NASA/JPL CalTech)

Narrator:
Eric J. Rignot (NASA/JPL CalTech)

Producers:
Carol Rasmussen (NASA/JPL CalTech)
Gay Y. Hill (NASA/JPL CalTech)
Patrick Lynch (Wyle Information Systems)

Lead Scientists:
Eric J. Rignot (NASA/JPL CalTech)
Jeremie Mouginot (University of California, Irvine)
Bernd Scheuchl (University of California, Irvine)
Mathieu Morlighem (University of California, Irvine)
Helene Seroussi (NASA/JPL CalTech)

Project Support:
Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Joycelyn Thomson Jones (NASA/GSFC)
Leann Johnson (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
Eric Sokolowsky (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)

Lead Writer:
Patrick Lynch (Wyle Information Systems)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Video courtesy of NASA/JPL

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11540

Keywords:
DLESE >> Narrated
SVS >> App
NASA Science >> Earth