Posted on Oct 29, 2023
Antarctica is melting and we all need to adapt, a trio of climate analyses show
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https://www.npr.org/2023/10/27/ [login to see] /antarctica-is-melting-and-we-all-need-to-adapt-a-trio-of-climate-analyses-show
A trio of new scientific analyses about the loss of ice in Antarctica paint a picture of a continent in trouble. Sea ice is disappearing, gigantic portions of the West Antarctic ice sheet are crumbling and even relatively stable East Antarctica is showing worrying changes.
That's a problem for humanity.
Let's begin with the sea ice. Each winter, the ocean water around Antarctica freezes. Because Antarctica is in the Southern Hemisphere, this happens during North American summer months – deep winter in Antarctica is in July, August and September.
A trio of new scientific analyses about the loss of ice in Antarctica paint a picture of a continent in trouble. Sea ice is disappearing, gigantic portions of the West Antarctic ice sheet are crumbling and even relatively stable East Antarctica is showing worrying changes.
That's a problem for humanity.
Let's begin with the sea ice. Each winter, the ocean water around Antarctica freezes. Because Antarctica is in the Southern Hemisphere, this happens during North American summer months – deep winter in Antarctica is in July, August and September.
Antarctica is melting and we all need to adapt, a trio of climate analyses show
Posted from npr.org
Antarctica
Science
Climate Change
Posted 6 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Taken together, the new research paints a picture of a continent that is poised to drive multiple feet of sea level rise in the coming decades, and could cause catastrophic sea level rise longer term if humans don't shift away faster from fossil fuels.
"In this context, courage looks like adaptation," says Naughten, noting that cutting emissions is not enough on its own. "If we can plan ahead to reduce human suffering and to save human lives, that's better than closing our eyes until the ocean's at our doorstep."
Some American cities are already beginning to prepare for multiple feet of sea level rise this century, in part because official sea level rise predictions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration already factor in some Antarctic melting. Disappearing ice in West Antarctica disproportionately drives sea level rise on the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States, because of ocean currents and other ocean and ice dynamics."
..."Taken together, the new research paints a picture of a continent that is poised to drive multiple feet of sea level rise in the coming decades, and could cause catastrophic sea level rise longer term if humans don't shift away faster from fossil fuels.
"In this context, courage looks like adaptation," says Naughten, noting that cutting emissions is not enough on its own. "If we can plan ahead to reduce human suffering and to save human lives, that's better than closing our eyes until the ocean's at our doorstep."
Some American cities are already beginning to prepare for multiple feet of sea level rise this century, in part because official sea level rise predictions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration already factor in some Antarctic melting. Disappearing ice in West Antarctica disproportionately drives sea level rise on the East and Gulf Coasts of the United States, because of ocean currents and other ocean and ice dynamics."
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