RESEARCHERS in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) released findings that offer insights into the thinning ice sheets in Antarctica.
A new study could help scientists’ betters understand the factors as to why Antarctica is losing ice at an accelerating rate.
Two studies led by scientists at Khalifa University, one of the best institutions in Abu Dhabi, shed light on a critical subject that could determine the future of the planet.
One of the studies focused on the Pine Island Glacier (PIG), the fastest-melting glacier in Antarctica, responsible for about 25% of ice loss in the continent.
The author of the research study warned the melting could destabilize the whole ice sheet in West Antarctica.
Meanwhile, Antarctica’s so-called “Doomsday Glacier” is one of the largest on the planet and is also melting at a rapid rate, dumping billions of tonnes of ice in the ocean. The Glacier got its nickname because of its high risk of collapse and threat to global sea level while its melting ice sheets would increase the ocean waters by feet.
Researchers cite climate change as a factor in the loss of ice over Antarctica.
Antarctica holds about 60% of the freshwater worldwide and about 90% of the earth’s ice and although the continent is far from the Middle East, the melting ice sheets would definitely affect the rising sea levels worldwide, especially in coastal countries like the UAE.
Data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) showed Antarctica is losing ice mass at an average rate of about 150 billion tons per year and Greenland is losing about 270 billion tons per year, with both conditions contributing to the rising sea levels.
