Oops! Wilkes Basin Region Of E. Antarctic Ice Sheet More Vulnerable To Melt Than Thought

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Last edited Mon May 5, 2014, 10:43 AM - Edit history (1)

PART OF EAST ANTARCTICA is more vulnerable than expected to a thaw that could trigger an unstoppable slide of ice into the ocean and raise world sea levels for thousands of years, a study showed on Sunday.

The Wilkes Basin in East Antarctica, stretching more than 1,000 km inland, has enough ice to raise sea levels by three to four metres if it were to melt, the report said. The Wilkes is vulnerable to warming associated with climate change because it is held in place by a small rim of ice, resting on bedrock below sea level by the coast of the frozen continent. That 'ice plug' might melt away in coming centuries if ocean waters warm up.

"East Antarctica's Wilkes Basin is like a bottle on a slant. Once uncorked, it empties out," Matthias Mengel of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, lead author of the study in the journal Nature Climate Change, said in a statement.

Co-author Anders Levermann, also at the Potsdam Institute, said the main finding was that the ice flow would be irreversible, if set in motion. He said there was still time to limit warming to levels to keep the ice plug in place.

Ed. - Emphasis Added.

EDIT

http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2014/05/05/3997892.htm

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1. Oops indeed. R&K nt