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Difference between revisions of "West Antarctic Ice Sheet"
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[[File:Icesheet-Map.jpg|thumb|Map showing the West and East Antarctic Ice Sheets]] | [[File:Icesheet-Map.jpg|thumb|Map showing the West and East Antarctic Ice Sheets]] | ||
The '''Western Antarctic Ice Sheet''' (WAIS) is the segment of the continental ice sheet that covers [[Westarctica]] and the portion of [[Antarctica]] on the side of the [[Transantarctic Mountains]] which lies in the Western Hemisphere. The WAIS is classified as a marine-based ice sheet, meaning that its bed lies well below sea level and its edges flow into floating [[ice-shelf|ice shelves]]. The WAIS is bounded by the [[Ross Ice Shelf]], the [[Ronne Ice Shelf]], and outlet | The '''Western Antarctic Ice Sheet''' (WAIS) is the segment of the continental [[ice sheet]] that covers [[Westarctica]] and the portion of [[Antarctica]] on the side of the [[Transantarctic Mountains]] which lies in the Western Hemisphere. The WAIS is classified as a marine-based ice sheet, meaning that its bed lies well below sea level and its edges flow into floating [[ice-shelf|ice shelves]]. The WAIS is bounded by the [[Ross Ice Shelf]], the [[Ronne Ice Shelf]], and outlet [[glacier]]s that drain into the [[Amundsen Sea]]. | ||
It is estimated that the volume of the [[Antarctic ice sheet]] is about 25.4 million km3 (6.1 million cu mi), and the WAIS contains just under 10% of this, or 2.2 million km3 (530,000 cu mi). The weight of the ice has caused the underlying rock to sink by between 0.5 and 1 kilometer (0.31 and 0.62 miles) in a process known as isostatic depression. | It is estimated that the volume of the [[Antarctic ice sheet]] is about 25.4 million km3 (6.1 million cu mi), and the WAIS contains just under 10% of this, or 2.2 million km3 (530,000 cu mi). The weight of the ice has caused the underlying rock to sink by between 0.5 and 1 kilometer (0.31 and 0.62 miles) in a process known as isostatic depression. | ||
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==Warming== | ==Warming== | ||
[[File:West Antarctic Warming Graphic.png|thumb|Graphic showing warming on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet]] | [[File:West Antarctic Warming Graphic.png|thumb|Graphic showing warming on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet]] | ||
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet has warmed by more than 0.1 °C (0.18 °F)/decade in the last fifty years, and the warming is the strongest in winter and spring. Although this is partly offset by fall cooling in [[East Antarctica]], this effect was restricted to the 1980s and 1990s. The continent-wide average surface temperature trend of [[Antarctica]] is positive and statistically significant at >0.05 °C (0.090 °F)/decade since 1957. This warming of WAIS is strongest in the [[Antarctic Peninsula]]. In 2012, the temperature records for the ice sheet were reanalyzed with a conclusion that since 1958, the West Antarctic ice sheet had warmed by 2.4 °C (4.3 °F), almost double the previous estimate. Some scientists now fear that the WAIS could now collapse like the [[Larsen B Ice Shelf]] did in 2002. | The West Antarctic Ice Sheet has warmed by more than 0.1 °C (0.18 °F)/decade in the last fifty years, and the warming is the strongest in winter and spring. Although this is partly offset by fall cooling in [[East Antarctica]], this effect was restricted to the 1980s and 1990s. The continent-wide average surface temperature trend of [[Antarctica]] is positive and statistically significant at >0.05 °C (0.090 °F)/decade since 1957. This warming of WAIS is strongest in the [[Antarctic Peninsula]]. In 2012, the temperature records for the ice sheet were reanalyzed with a conclusion that since 1958, the West Antarctic ice sheet had warmed by 2.4 °C (4.3 °F), almost double the previous estimate. Some scientists now fear that the WAIS could now collapse like the [[Larsen-B Ice Shelf]] did in 2002. | ||
[[Category:Science]] | [[Category:Science]] | ||
[[Category:Geography of Westarctica]] | |||