A new Nature Geoscience study reveals that Antarctica’s Hektoria Glacier shrank by nearly 50% in just two months in late 2022 — the fastest retreat ever recorded.
An Antarctic glacier shrunk by almost half in just two months. Scientists say it could happen again https://t.co/zhQGjZUFnJ#COLD#Colorado#JDATA
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The glacier, roughly the size of Philadelphia, retreated five miles between November and December 2022, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Scientists say the sudden collapse was triggered when “fast ice” — sea ice attached to land — broke apart, destabilizing the glacier.
The study’s co-authors found that Hektoria rests on an ice plain that makes it especially vulnerable to rapid calving, or the breaking off of ice slabs.
Experts warn that if similar collapses occur in larger glaciers, sea levels could rise dramatically.
Although Hektoria’s retreat won’t significantly affect global levels, researchers say it offers a stark warning of how climate change and ocean warming could accelerate Antarctic ice loss.
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TIPP Staff
TIPP Staff
