NASA -- Climate experts from NASA released a statement claiming the natural processes might simply offset the rising water levels due to the melting of ice in Antarctica. The study being conducted and published from their Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. The article was entitled "Slowdown in Antarctic Mass Loss From Solid Earth and Sea Levels Feedback."
The current estimate made by NASA scientists on the contribution of Antarctica's melting ice sheets are between 20 to 25 percent increase in the global level. Such figures are an effect of the warming water temperatures, which clearly affects the integrity and stability of these ice sheets. Previous forecasts on the climate show that in the next 500 years, there would be a rapid expansion of melting of the ice sheets affecting the entire Antarctica Glacier.
However, in a recent claim by NASA, they suggest that the melting of the ice will slow down over the next 300 years by as much as 29%. Such prediction shows that future contribution to the rising sea levels of Antarctic ice melting.
"We found that by 2250, some of the processes concerning the solid part of the Earth will offset the melting of the ice sheets in the Antarctic, seemingly slowing down the rising levels of the world oceans," said Eric Larour, a NASA scientist that led the study.
Over the next 100 years, the prediction on the retreat of the ice sheets will still be within the one percent margin based on the former projections that have been made about it. However, further, in the future, scientists predict that due to the elastic rebound of the bedrock where the ice rests, the melting will become slower than what was previously thought.
"Unlike all the other models that have been created to show the depletion of the ice sheets, we have included in our study the processes that involve the solid part of the Earth," Dr. Larour said. He also added that they included the impact of the changes that may happen with the bedrock as well as the sea levels that are located very close to the ice sheets.
"We also observed these ice sheets using a higher level of resolution than what was used by the studies conducted before ours. We zoomed into the bedrock that is one kilometer near the affected areas," Dr. larour added.
Erik Ivins, co-author of the study commented, "One of the major things that we realized when we conducted the study is that as the ice on top melts, the bedrock where it rests lifts up elastically."
However, the US Space Agency commented that although the results of the study may sound so good, it may not be always the case. They said that there are other factors to consider and the battle against global warming must continue.
The greenhouse gases that are emitted into the atmosphere could still lead to the warming of the Earth and could make the current problem much worse.
