PARIS: The West Antarctic ice sheet appears to be shedding far more ice than a few years ago, according to climate research unveiled Wednesday. Previous research, conducted between 2005 and 2010, estimated that the ice sheet contributed 0.28 millimetres (0.1 inches) per year to the rise in global sea levels.
But three years of observations by Europe’s ice-monitoring satellite, CryoSat, suggests that the contribution is now 15 percent greater. The ice sheet is losing over 150 cubic kilometres (36 cubic miles) of ice per year, the European Space Agency (ESA) said in a press release. The phenomenon is linked to a thinning of ice flows at three big glaciers - Pine Island, Thwaites and Smith, said polar scientist Malcolm McMillan, at Britain’s University of Leeds.–AFP