Here is the latest shocking headline in this age of climate change: “Antarctica losing six times more ice mass annually now, than 40 years ago”. To explain the breaking science we are joined by Dr. Eric Rignot, Chair of Earth System Science at University of California, Irvine, and Senior Research Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
Show by Radio Ecoshock, reposted under CC License. Episode details at https://www.ecoshock.org/2019/01/global-heat-alert.html
Stop Fossil Fuels researches and disseminates effective strategies and tactics to halt fossil fuel combustion as fast as possible. Learn more at https://stopfossilfuels.org
SHOW NOTES
Just 10 years ago we were told “don’t worry about Antarctica“. Sea ice there was actually expanding. We thought snow was piling up deeper in the interior of the continent. But satellite measurements show Antarctica is losing mass. Ice must be peeling off into the ocean faster than snow can accumulate.
In 2014, Eric and his team shocked the world when they reported melting in a section of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is “unstoppable”. In this paper, and in this interview, we discover it is not just the Western part going. East Antarctica, which holds enough ice to completely rewrite world coastlines, is also losing ice.
The paper says this about the relationships of ice loss between the two parts of Antarctica:
“West Antarctica contributed 63% of the total loss (159 ± 8 Gt/y), East Antarctica 20% (51 ± 13 Gt/y), and the Peninsula 17% (42 ± 5 Gt/y) (Table 2). The mass loss from West Antarctica is three to four times larger than that from East Antarctica and the Peninsula, respectively. We find that the Antarctic Ice Sheet has been out of balance with snowfall accumulation the entire period of study, including in East Antarctica…East Antarctica is a major participant in the mass loss from Antarctica despite the recent, rapid mass loss from West Antarctica (Table 1). Our observations challenge the traditional view that the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is stable and immune to change.”
After an exhaustive survey, this team found in the 1990’s, ice loss from Antarctica more than tripled from the previous decade. It’s gone up again every decade since. We also discuss the role of the ozone hole and climate change.
The new paper is “Four decades of Antarctic Ice Sheet mass balance from 19792017“, released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on January 14, 2019. PNAS gives this “Significance Statement”:
“We evaluate the state of the mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet over the last four decades using a comprehensive, precise satellite record and output products from a regional atmospheric climate model to document its impact on sea-level rise. The mass loss is dominated by enhanced glacier flow in areas closest to warm, salty, subsurface circumpolar deep water, including East Antarctica, which has been a major contributor over the entire period. The same sectors are likely to dominate sea-level rise from Antarctica in decades to come as enhanced polar westerlies push more circumpolar deep water toward the glaciers.”
Look for my follow-up interview with Antarctic specialist Dr. Richard Levy from New Zealand in an upcoming Radio Ecoshock show. There is more amazing (but frightening) new science to come.
Antarctica Melting 6x Faster Than 40 Years Ago—Interview w/Eric Rignot—Radio Ecoshock 2019-01-24
Thanks for visiting InnerSelf.com, where there are 20,000+ life-altering articles promoting "New Attitudes and New Possibilities." All articles are translated into 30+ languages. Subscribe to InnerSelf Magazine, published weekly, and Marie T Russell's Daily Inspiration. InnerSelf Magazine has been published since 1985.
Thanks for visiting InnerSelf.com, where there are 20,000+ life-altering articles promoting "New Attitudes and New Possibilities." All articles are translated into 30+ languages. Subscribe to InnerSelf Magazine, published weekly, and Marie T Russell's Daily Inspiration. InnerSelf Magazine has been published since 1985.
Health Workers Can Face Moral Injury Similar To Combat Vets
Health care workers experienced high rates of potential “moral injury” that are comparable to rates experienced by military veterans, according to a new study.
How the Matthew Principle Shapes Our Economy and Society
You've probably heard the saying "the rich get richer" before. But have you ever stopped to wonder why that tends to happen?
The Unpredictable Nature of El Niño: Understanding Its Impact on Global Weather Patterns
To comprehend El Niño, we must first acknowledge its counterpart, La Niña, and their intricate relationship as part of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system.
Phosphate Discovery in Norway: A Game-Changer for Electric Vehicle Industry?
With geologists hunting high and low for battery materials, an enormous new discovery of phosphate rock could have huge implications for the electric vehicle industry.
A Guide to Transforming Our Mindset for Ecological Solutions
“We have a sense that we are about to face immense upheavals,” Maja Göpel writes, and we need to find ways to tackle multiple problems at once...
6 Charts Show Key Role Firearms Makers Play In America’s Gun Culture
Americans have blamed many culprits, from mental illness to inadequate security, for the tragic mass shootings that are occurring with increasing frequency in schools, offices and theaters across...