Context:
- The rapid melting of West Antarctica’s ice sheet due to warm waters around it is now unavoidable, no matter how much carbon emissions are cut, according to a new study.
Warming in the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica
- To conduct the analysis, the scientists have used a high-resolution computer model of the Amundsen Sea to provide the most comprehensive assessment of warming in West Antarctica to date.
- Scientists have used the model to run many different simulations of the 21st century, totalling over 4,000 years of ocean warming and ice-shelf melting in the Amundsen Sea.
Amundsen Sea
- Amundsen Sea is an arm of the Southern Ocean, the Amundsen Sea lies off the coast of Western Antarctica’s Marie Byrd Land.
- The eastern and western extent of the Amundsen Sea are marked by the Cape Flying Fish and Cape Dart, respectively.
- The Thwaites Ice Tongue extends into this sea which remains ice-covered in most parts.
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Key Findings of Study
- Ocean warming and ice-shelf melting in the 1.5°C scenario is statistically the same as in a mid-range scenario, which is closer to what existing pledges to reduce fossil fuel use over the coming decades would produce.
- This will most likely lead to an increased sea level rise, which will affect coastal communities across the world, including in India.
About Ice Sheet:
- An ice sheet is essentially a mass of glacial ice that covers more than 50,000 square kilometers of land — roughly large enough to blanket Uttarakhand in ice.
- There are two major ice sheets in the world: Greenland ice sheet and Antarctic ice sheet.
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- Melting of Ice Sheets: There are various processes through which ice sheets melt. One of them is when warm ocean waters melt ice shelves — the edges of an ice sheet which floats on the ocean.Even under a best-case scenario of limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, water in West Antarctica will continue to get warmer three times faster than in the 20th century, leading to an increased melting of the region’s ice sheet.
- Sea-level rise: The melting West Antarctic ice sheet is just one contributor to sea level rise, which is just one impact of climate change.
- Climate Change Impact: Some impacts of climate change can no longer be avoided, and substantial ice loss in West Antarctica is probably one of them.
- But, climate change is not all or nothing, and there are many other impacts which we can still avoid or limit: like the loss of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, or the severity of heatwaves, droughts, and extreme rainfall.
News Source: The Indian Express
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November 1, 2023