(Antarctica) Under-ice flood speeds up glacier - BBC

[Eugene]

Source: BBC News

Page last updated at 14:17 GMT,
Monday, 17 November 2008

Under-ice flood speeds up glacier

By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News

Great floods beneath the Antarctic ice sheet can
now be linked directly to the speed at which that
ice moves towards the ocean, scientists say.

Leigh Stearns and colleagues have been able show
how the giant Byrd Glacier in east Antarctica sped
up just as two lakes under the ice overflowed.

The flood water acts as a lubricant, easing the
ice over the bedrock.

-snip-

But when world scientists released their state of
the climate assessment in 2007 (Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change), they said ice behaviour
in response to a warming Earth was one of the
great uncertainties in projecting future ocean
rise.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7733509.stm

[Mojorabbit]

1. I live

in Florida and I keep a close watch on this one. Thanks.