MAY 30, 2024
Editors' notes
A local bright spot among melting glaciers: 2,000 km of Antarctic ice-covered coastline has been stable for 85 years
by University of Copenhagen
Overview map. Credit: Mads Dømgaard
A whaler's forgotten aerial photos from 1937 have given researchers at the University of Copenhagen the most detailed picture of the ice evolution in East Antarctica to date. The results show that the ice has remained stable and even grown slightly over almost a century, though scientists observe early signs of weakening. The research offers new insights that enhance predictions of ice changes and sea level rise.
Higher temperatures, extreme weather, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels—all indicators that the climate and the world's ice masses are in a critical state. However, a new study published in Nature Communications from the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at the University of Copenhagen offers a local bright spot.
Using hundreds of old aerial photographs dating back to 1937, combined with modern computer technology, the researchers have tracked the evolution of glaciers in East Antarctica. The area covers approximately 2,000 kilometers of coastline and contains as much ice as the entire Greenland Ice Sheet.
https://phys.org/news/2024-05-local-bright-glaciers-km-antarctic.html#google_vignette
