Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Antarctic ice began melting earlier than thought

Darpan News Desk IANS, 29 May, 2014 02:04 PM
    Coming on the heels of recent studies that suggest destabilisation of part of the West Antarctic ice sheet has begun, a study shows that the Antarctic ice sheet began melting about 5,000 years earlier than previously thought - at the end of last ice age.
     
    The shrinkage of the vast ice sheet accelerated during eight distinct episodes, causing rapid sea level rise, it added.
     
    “Conventional thinking is that the Antarctic ice sheet has been relatively stable since the last ice age, that it began to melt relatively late and that its decline was slow and steady until it reached its present size,” said lead author Michael Weber, a scientist from University of Cologne in Germany.
     
    “The sediment record suggests a different pattern - one that is more episodic and suggests that parts of the ice sheet repeatedly became unstable during the last deglaciation,” Weber added.
     
    The researchers examined two sediment cores from the Scotia Sea between Antarctica and South America that contained "iceberg-rafted debris”.
     
    Periods of rapid increases in iceberg-rafted debris suggest that more icebergs were being released by the Antarctic ice sheet.
     
    The researchers discovered increased amounts of debris during eight separate episodes beginning as early as 20,000 years ago, and continuing until 9,000 years ago.
     
    The melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet was not thought to have started, however, until 14,000 years ago.
     
    The research also provides the first solid evidence that the Antarctic ice sheet contributed to what is known as meltwater pulse 1A - a period of very rapid sea level rise that began some 14,500 years ago.
     
    "During that time, the sea level on a global basis rose about 50 feet in just 350 years - or about 20 times faster than sea level rise over the last century," noted Peter Clark, an Oregon State University paleoclimatologist.
     
    “We do not yet know what triggered these eight episodes or pulses, but it appears that once the melting of the ice sheet began it was amplified by physical processes,” he added.
     
    Some 9,000 years ago, the episodic pulses of melting stopped, the researchers said.
     
    Perhaps the sheet ran out of ice that was vulnerable to the physical changes that were taking place.
     
    “However, our new results suggest that the Antarctic Ice Sheet is more unstable than previously considered,” they emphasised in the study published in the journal Nature.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Honey Can Destroy Harmful Fungus, Save Lives

    Honey Can Destroy Harmful Fungus, Save Lives
    Researchers from Britain have identified the effect of honey used since ancient times for the treatment of several diseases, on pathogenic fungi that can cause devastating infections in vulnerable people.

    Honey Can Destroy Harmful Fungus, Save Lives

    High-status women use 'slut discourse' to enjoy Sex better

    High-status women use 'slut discourse' to enjoy Sex better
    This may not go down well with some but high-status women from affluent families define themselves as classy compared to other women whom they view as trashy or slutty, a significant study has revealed.

    High-status women use 'slut discourse' to enjoy Sex better

    What Women Actually Want in Men? Read On

    What Women Actually Want in Men? Read On
    What types of men heterosexual women find attractive may have no relationship with their menstrual cycles, a significant study shows.

    What Women Actually Want in Men? Read On

    Even indoor tanning raises melanoma risk

    Even indoor tanning raises melanoma risk
    Do you use indoor tanning believing that this is safe? Beware as this may increase the chances of your developing melanoma, an alarming study says.

    Even indoor tanning raises melanoma risk

    Young women! Husky voice may kill your job chances

    Young women! Husky voice may kill your job chances
    Good work experience and a charming personality fine but a deep, husky voice could be a deterrent for a young woman to land a good job.

    Young women! Husky voice may kill your job chances

    'I can' mentality can help shed extra fat

    'I can' mentality can help shed extra fat
    Want to maintain your slim figure years after childbirth? Develop an "I can" mentality whenever confronted with barriers to your everyday physical activities, a study suggested.

    'I can' mentality can help shed extra fat

    PrevNext