More than half the ice shelves around Antarctica that prevent huge glaciers sliding into the ocean and lifting sea levels are at risk of crumbling due to climate change, according to new research.
Melt water running into deep fissures caused by warming air is undermining the structural integrity of these natural barricades, the researchers reported in prestigious journal Nature.
Earth's average surface temperature has gone up by one degree Celsius since the last 19th century, enough to increase the intensity of droughts, heat waves and tropical cyclones. When this happens, water - which is heavier than ice -"violently forces the fractures to zip open and cause the shelf to rapidly disintegrate", the researchers said in a statement.The Antarctic Peninsula, which has warmed more than any other part of the continent, has shown in dramatic fashion what this can lead to.
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