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Press Release - Summer melt season is getting longer on the Antarctic Peninsula, new data show
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/press/press_releases/press_release.php?id=2113[font face=Serif][font size=5]Press Release - Summer melt season is getting longer on the Antarctic Peninsula, new data show[/font]
Issue date: 28 Mar 2013
Number: PR04/2013
[font size=3]New research from the Antarctic Peninsula shows that the summer melt season has been getting longer over the last 60 years. Increased summer melting has been linked to the rapid break-up of ice shelves in the area and rising sea level.
The Antarctic Peninsula — a mountainous region extending northwards towards South America — is warming much faster than the rest of Antarctica. Temperatures have risen by up to 3°C since the 1950s — three times more than the global average. This is a result of a strengthening of local westerly winds, causing warmer air from the sea to be pushed up and over the peninsula. In contrast to much of the rest of Antarctica, summer temperatures are high enough for snow to melt.
Aside from contributing directly to sea-level rise, this summer melting may have other important effects. Meltwater may enlarge cracks in floating ice shelves which can contribute to their retreat or collapse. As a result, the speed at which glaciers flow towards the sea is increased. Also, melting and refreezing causes snow layers to become thinner and more dense, affecting the height of the snow surface above sea level. Scientists need to know this so they can interpret satellite data correctly.
Dr Nick Barrand, who carried out the research while working for the British Antarctic Survey, led an analysis of data from 30 weather stations on the peninsula. “We found a significant increase in the length of the melting season at most of the stations with the longest temperature records” he says. “At one station the average length of the melt season almost doubled between 1948 and 2011.”
…[/font][/font]
Issue date: 28 Mar 2013
Number: PR04/2013
[font size=3]New research from the Antarctic Peninsula shows that the summer melt season has been getting longer over the last 60 years. Increased summer melting has been linked to the rapid break-up of ice shelves in the area and rising sea level.
The Antarctic Peninsula — a mountainous region extending northwards towards South America — is warming much faster than the rest of Antarctica. Temperatures have risen by up to 3°C since the 1950s — three times more than the global average. This is a result of a strengthening of local westerly winds, causing warmer air from the sea to be pushed up and over the peninsula. In contrast to much of the rest of Antarctica, summer temperatures are high enough for snow to melt.
Aside from contributing directly to sea-level rise, this summer melting may have other important effects. Meltwater may enlarge cracks in floating ice shelves which can contribute to their retreat or collapse. As a result, the speed at which glaciers flow towards the sea is increased. Also, melting and refreezing causes snow layers to become thinner and more dense, affecting the height of the snow surface above sea level. Scientists need to know this so they can interpret satellite data correctly.
Dr Nick Barrand, who carried out the research while working for the British Antarctic Survey, led an analysis of data from 30 weather stations on the peninsula. “We found a significant increase in the length of the melting season at most of the stations with the longest temperature records” he says. “At one station the average length of the melt season almost doubled between 1948 and 2011.”
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