Antarctic's Pine Island glacier produces giant iceberg 10 July 2013 [...] Satellite and airborne measurements have recorded a marked thinning and a surge in velocity of the PIG in recent decades. This has been attributed in part to warmer waters getting under, and melting, the ice shelf. The PIG's grounding line has pulled back further and further towards the land. The glacier's behaviour means it is now under close scrutiny, not least because it drains something like 10% of all the ice flowing off the west of the continent. "The PIG is the most rapidly shrinking glacier on the planet," explained Prof David Vaughan from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). "It's losing more ice than any other glacier on the planet, and it's contributing to sea level rise faster than any other glacier on the planet. That makes it worthy of study." [...] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23249909
Retreating Antarctic Ice Fuels Surprising Glass Sponge Invasion A fish (Trematomus sp.) is hiding in a glass sponge. Photo taken at the study site in the Western Weddell Sea. Explosion in glass sponge population forces researchers to rethink how animals live in Antarctic. 07.11.13 http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/07/antarctic-glass-sponges/ [with comments]
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