Antarctica Ice Shelves In Danger Of Collapse In 100 Years

The endless warnings and awareness campaigns regarding the danger of ice melt arise as new studies show that by 2050, the risk of ice shelves collapse would be doubled, and the continuous flow of water from ice melting would be fully directed to the ocean, which would trigger the rise of the sea level.

Satellite observations have been made and were noted that it has already started on the Antarctic Peninsula. "Our results illustrate just how rapidly melting in Antarctica can intensify in a warming climate, this has already occurred in places like the Antarctic Peninsula where we've observed warming and abrupt ice shelf collapses in the last few decades. Our model projections show that similar levels of melt may occur across coastal Antarctica near the end of this century, raising concerns about future ice shelf stability," said Luke Trusel, one of the co-authors of the study.

The events would be catalyzed by the greenhouse gas emissions if they continue at their current rate. Dr. Karen Frey, co-author of the said study said, "The data presented in this study clearly show that climate policy, and therefore the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions over the coming century, have an enormous control over the future fate of surface melting of Antarctic ice shelves, which we must consider when assessing their long-term stability and potential indirect contributions to sea level rise."

These said ice shelves are floating extensions of the Antarctic continent and serve as a barrier to give a hold to the effects of the ice melting into going to the sea directly. When these extensions collapse, there is no holding back to one of the main consequences of the global climate change and Green house effect.

The said study has been published in the Nature Geosciences on Oct. 12, 2015, which conducted climate simulations up to the year 2100 in regard with the green house gas emissions. It was conducted by Luke Trusel, Karen Frey, Sara Das, Kristopher Karnauskas, Peter Kuipers Munneke, Michiel R. van den Broeke, and Erik van Meijgaard.