East Antarctica's Totten Glacier Net Mass Loss 14 GT/Yr; Region's Largest Glacier Holds 6-Meter Rise
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"What we have found is that warm water reaches the base of the Totten," voyage chief scientist Steve Rintoul, of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC said in Hobart on Monday. The Totten has a 538,000 square kilometre drainage system, more than twice the size of Victoria, and its 70 billion tonne yearly outflow would top out Sydney Harbour every two and a half days.
Dr Rintoul said it became a focus of concern after satellite measurements showed it was thinning faster than other glaciers in east Antarctica, losing around 14 gigatonnes each year. "It was thought that the glaciers on the east Antarctic ice sheet were relatively immune to the kind of melting taking place on the much smaller West Antarctic ice sheet," he said.
A recent benchmark study by University of California glaciologist Eric Rignot found the west Antarctic ice sheet had gone into an irreversible retreat, and melting would raise sea level by 1.2 metres. But Dr Rintoul said the Totten system, east Antarctica's largest, contained ice equivalent to a six-metre sea level rise, making understanding of its behaviour critical.
Like the west Antarctic's Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, the Totten was found to be grounded on bedrock below sea level. "We didn't know until recently that inland, it sloped downwards, and so was susceptible to melting," Dr Rintoul said. "Pine Island is melting and thinning more rapidly, but Totten is not too far behind," he said.
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http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/giant-east-antarctic-glacier-melting-with-warmer-oceans-20150127-12ypy4.html
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