A new report shows that the 14 glaciers flowing into the ocean along a 1000km-stretch of coastline known as the Getz region of Antarctica are all flowing quicker than ever before - being melted by warmer seawater. Click here to read the full story.
Since 1994, they've lost 315 gigatonnes of ice - equivalent to 126 million Olympic swimming pools of water, accounting for just over 10% of the Antarctic continent's contribution to global sea-level rise over the same period.
Heather Selley, a glaciologist at the Nerc Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at the University of Leeds, UK said, "This is the first time anyone has done a really detailed study of this area of West Antarctica. It's very inaccessible to people to go and do field work because it's so mountainous; most of it hasn't ever been stepped on by humans. But it's really important we understand what's going on there - to recognise its glaciers are speeding up and the reason why."
Pierre Dutrieux, a study co-author at British Antarctic Survey, said: "We know that warmer ocean waters are eroding many of West Antarctica's glaciers, and these new observations demonstrate the impact this is having on the Getz region.
"This new data will provide a new perspective of the processes taking place so we can predict future change with more certainty."
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