Petermann Glacier Retreat Could Accelerate Sea Level Rise.
Images from NASA's Terra satellite show the retreat of Petermann Glacier's floating ice tongue over the past two decades due to warming ocean waters melting the glacier's ice from below. The glacier is thinning, retreating, and accelerating its flow, making it more prone to fractures and iceberg calving. A rift formed in 2017, which has converged with an older rift, and it remains to be seen if it will eventually grow across the width of the glacier and release another large iceberg. The highest melt rates under the floating ice tongue occurred within its grounding zone, where tides can help warmer seawater reach farther and melt inland ice from below, contributing to sea level rise.
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