Antarctic glacier ‘vulnerable’ to warmer water, says CSIRO scientist
ANDREW DRUMMOND AAP * AAP * January 26, 2015 12:42PM
Aurora Australis gets up close to the Totten Glacier in East Antarctica.
ONE of the world’s biggest glaciers, holding enough water to raise global sea levels by about six metres, is under threat from warming ocean temperatures, researchers say.
CSIRO scientist Dr Steve Rintoul.
Satellite observations show that the Totten Glacier, located in Antarctica’s Australian territory and bordering the Southern Ocean, has decreased in thickness over the past 15 years.
CSIRO scientist Steve Rintoul said the glacier, which covers an area more than one and a half times that of the ACT, was considered to be in the stable portion of east Antarctica, untouched by warmer currents.
“Our research has shown that warm ocean waters reach the area and the glacier is more vulnerable that first thought,” Dr Rintoul said today.
“The next question is, what does that mean for the future?”
Australia’s icebreaker Aurora Australis has just returned from a research trip to the Totten Glacier collecting water samples that Dr Rintoul hope will provide clues to the changing environment around the glacier.
“The glacier is not going to melt tomorrow and we are not going to get six metres of sea level rise any time soon, it is not a doomsday scenario,” he said.
“But it is important to know what climate change might be kicking off now that might not be able to be corrected in the future.”
The Totten Glacier in East Antarctica has decreased in thickness over the past 15 years.
.. well, Noah, ol' son, some 97% of climate scientists are .. the other ruff 3%? .. well, too many have faith in them, and it's kinda ironic that the same people have faith in the guy who undoubtedly you had faith in, too ..
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