Earth Equity News

Antarctic Coastal Ice Thinning Surprises Experts. By Alister Doyle, Reuters, September 23, 2009. "Scientists are surprised at how extensively coastal ice in Antarctica and Greenland is thinning, according to a study released on September 23 that could help predict rising sea levels linked to climate change. Analysis of millions of NASA satellite laser images showed the biggest loss of ice was caused by glaciers speeding up when they flowed into the sea, according to scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and Bristol University. 'We were surprised to see such a strong pattern of thinning glaciers across such large areas of coastline -- it's widespread and in some cases thinning extends hundreds of kilometers inland,' said Hamish Pritchard of BAS who led the study. 'We think that warm ocean currents reaching the coast and melting the glacier front is the most likely cause of faster glacier flow,' he said in a statement."