The basal melting due to subsurface warming represents an important component of
the current ice mass loss,» Ezat points out.
Not exact matches
While we are within this range, our
current understanding of
ice -
mass loss is adequate.
and therefore to be able to make a stronger statement on how unique the
current and apparently global warming related
ice mass loss is» for Greenland, he says.
Our modelled values are consistent with
current rates of Antarctic
ice loss and sea - level rise, and imply that accelerated
mass loss from marine - based portions of Antarctic
ice sheets may ensue when an increase in global mean air temperature of only 1.4 - 2.0 deg.
SLR by 2100 is more likely to come from
ice mass loss from West Antarctica (WAIS) where warm ocean
currents are already melting
ice at glacier mouths and attacking areas of the WAIS resting on the seabed.
For Antarctica as a whole, the study found the
current rate of
ice sheet
mass loss to be about 160 billion metric tons of
ice per year.
Consider the facts: the climate system is indicated to have left the natural cycle path; multiple lines of evidence and studies from different fields all point to the human fingerprint on
current climate change; the convergence of these evidence lines include
ice mass loss, pattern changes, ocean acidification, plant and species migration, isotopic signature of CO2, changes in atmospheric composition, and many others.
Great progress has been made recently in assessing the
current rate of
mass loss from the
ice sheets (Shepherd et al., 2012), as well as monitoring the changing snowfall, surface melting, and temperature contributing to the changes.
Current total
ice -
loss in Greenland is running at an estimated 200 Gte / yr and Antarctica at 150 Gte / yr (with
ice mass gain in the east and
loss in the west — with some estimates of a net gain)-- at that rate of 1mm / yr, by 2100 the global
ice -
loss would raise sea level by a little over 3 inches.
Current models suggest
ice mass losses increase with temperature more rapidly than gains due to increased precipitation and that the surface
mass balance becomes negative (net
ice loss) at a global average warming (relative to pre-industrial values) in excess of 1.9 to 4.6 °C.
Thirteen years of GRACE data provide an excellent picture of the
current mass changes of Greenland and Antarctica, with
mass loss in the GRACE period 2002 - 15 amounting to 265 ± 25 GT / yr for Greenland (including peripheral
ice caps), and 95 ± 50 GT / year for Antarctica, corresponding to 0.72 mm / year and 0.26 mm / year average global sea level change.