Abstract
AbstractUntil recently, the mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet was not well known. Here, I review recent progress in determining its magnitude and temporal evolution, the physical processes that control the observed changes in ice sheet mass balance, and the important knowledge gaps that remain. The results highlight that the linkage between climate change and the Antarctic ice sheet is more complex than anticipated and that major observational and numerical modeling advances will be needed before we can reliably predict its evolution in a warming climate. At present, the Antarctic ice sheet is losing mass at a rate almost comparable to that of the Greenland ice sheet, about 250 ± 31 Gt/year or 0.7 mm/year sea level rise, and the mass loss is increasing with time, at a rate slightly below that observed in Greenland, at 14 ± 2 Gt/yr2. The Antarctic ice sheet is therefore a major contributor to sea level rise and its contribution is slowly increasing with time. WIREs Clim Change 2011 2 324–331 DOI: 10.1002/wcc.110This article is categorized under: Paleoclimates and Current Trends > Modern Climate Change
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.