Over the past twenty-two years, the giant glacier in Antarctica has retreated nearly 5 kilometers. If it melts completely, the sea level will rise by almost one and a half meters.
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have assessed the 'Denman' Glacier in East Antarctica for cause for concern.
“For a long time, it was believed that East Antarctica was not under threat,” said Eric Rigno, who co-authored the Geophysical Research Letters study, in a statement.
“But as glaciers like Denman have come under scrutiny from the cryosphere community, we are now beginning to see evidence of potential sea ice sheet instability in this region.”
Scientists are more worried about West Antarctica, where ice has melted faster in recent years, Rigno said. But the Denman Glacier is so large – about 16 kilometers wide – that its potential impact on sea level is “just as significant,” he said.
Between 1979 and 2017, the glacier lost about 268 billion tons of ice, according to a study published on Monday.
It melts 3 meters per year, which is higher than average compared to other shelf areas in East Antarctica.
“Because of the shape of the ground beneath Denman's west side, there is the potential for rapid and irreversible melting, which means a significant rise in global sea level in the future,” said lead author Virginia Brancato, a research scientist at NASA JPL.
And as the climate continues to change, the ice sheet will collapse, scientists say.
Sources: Photo: NASA
