Antarctic Ice Sheet Began Melting 5,000 Years Earlier Than Previously Assumed

[unhappycamper]

http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/15048/20140529/antarctic-ice-sheet-began-melting-5-000-years-earlier-than-previosuly-assumed.htm



An international study reveals that the melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet started thousands of years earlier and is more unstable than previously assumed.

Antarctic Ice Sheet Began Melting 5,000 Years Earlier Than Previously Assumed
First Posted: May 29, 2014 07:47 AM ED

In a collaborative study, researchers found that it was nearly 5000 years earlier than previously thought that the Antarctic Ice Sheet began melting and the shrinkage of the ice sheet increased between 20,000 and 9,000 years ago triggering a rapid rise in the sea level.

The study included researchers from the University of Cologne, Oregon State University, Alfred Wegener Instituite, University of Lapland, University of New South Wales and University of Bonn.

This finding is crucial as studies conducted recently highlighted that destabilization of a portion of the West Antartic Ice Sheet has already begun and is irreversible.

The finding is based on the examination of two sediment cores taken from Scotia Sea located between Antarctica and South America that had the 'iceberg rafted debris' that was taken off Antartica by the flowing ice and deposited by the icebergs into the sea. Minerals were deposited into the seafloor sediments as the icebergs melted and this gave scientists a peek into the past behavior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.