Fast Antarctic glacier retreat sparks scientific ‘whodunnit’

But different researchers have contested the examine’s findings.

The controversy surrounds the place of the “grounding line” or “grounding zone” – the place the glacier loses contact with the seabed and begins to drift within the ocean.

“This new study offers a tantalising glimpse into what could be the fastest rate of retreat ever observed in modern-day Antarctica,” stated Dr Frazer Christie, glaciologist and senior Earth remark specialist at Airbus Defence and Space.

“But there is significant disagreement within the glaciological community about the precise location of Hektoria Glacier’s grounding line because it’s so difficult to get accurate records from radar satellites in this fast-flowing region,” he added.

The location of the grounding line could sound trivial, however it’s essential to find out whether or not the change was actually unprecedented.

“If this section of the ice sheet was in fact floating [rather than resting on the seabed], the punchline would instead be that icebergs calved from an ice shelf, which is much less unusual behaviour,” stated Dr Christine Batchelor, senior lecturer in bodily geography at Newcastle University.

“I think the mechanism and rate of retreat proposed are plausible in Antarctic ice plain settings, but because of uncertainty about where the grounding zone was located at Hektoria, I am not fully convinced that this has been observed here,” she added.

But the place there’s little debate is that the delicate white continent – as soon as thought largely immune from the impacts of world warming – is now altering earlier than our eyes.

“While we disagree about the process driving this change at Hektoria, we are in absolute agreement that the changes in the polar regions are scarily rapid, quicker than we expected even a decade ago,” stated Anna Hogg, professor of Earth remark on the University of Leeds.

“We must collect more data from satellites, so that we can better monitor and understand why these changes are occurring and what their implications are [for sea-level rise].”