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Difference between revisions of "Climate of Antarctica"
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Nearly all of Antarctica is covered by a sheet of ice that is, on average, a mile thick or more (1.6 km). Antarctica contains 90% of the world's ice and more than 70% of its fresh water. | Nearly all of Antarctica is covered by a sheet of ice that is, on average, a mile thick or more (1.6 km). Antarctica contains 90% of the world's ice and more than 70% of its fresh water. | ||
If all the land-ice covering Antarctica were to melt — around 30 million cubic kilometers (7.2 million cubic miles) of ice — the | If all the land-ice covering Antarctica were to melt — around 30 million cubic kilometers (7.2 million cubic miles) of ice — the seas would rise by over 60 meters (200 feet). This is, however, very unlikely to occur within the next few centuries. The Antarctic is so cold that even with increases of a few degrees, temperatures would generally remain below the melting point of ice. Higher temperatures are expected to lead to more snow, which would increase the amount of ice in Antarctica, offsetting approximately one third of the expected sea level rise from thermal expansion of the oceans. During a recent decade, East Antarctica thickened at an average rate of about 1.8 centimeters per year while West Antarctica showed an overall thinning of 0.9 centimeters per year. Because ice flows, albeit slowly, the ice within the ice sheet is younger than the age of the sheet itself. | ||
==Ice shelves== | ==Ice shelves== | ||