Tag

Sea Level Rise

All articles tagged with #sea level rise

science20 days ago•3 min saved

Lost Undersea Probe Reveals Antarctic Ice Secrets

A 20-foot orange autonomous underwater vehicle named Ran explored the underside of West Antarctica's Dotson Ice Shelf in 2022, revealing a complex ice topography with terraces, channels, and teardrop pits unseen by satellites; when researchers returned in 2024 to monitor movement, Ran vanished without a trace, leaving researchers unsure of the cause but with valuable mapping data that show how warming Circumpolar Deep Water melts the shelf and could influence future sea-level rise.

via SlashGear|

#antarctica #dotson-ice-shelf #oceanography

science22 days ago•11 min saved

Tiny ocean warming could trigger irreversible West Antarctic collapse

A modelling study suggests the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could begin an irreversible collapse with as little as 0–0.25°C more warming at depth, after which the process would be self-propagating and could push global sea levels up by about four metres over centuries—continuing even if warming ceases; the result is not consensus but highlights a fast trigger and long-lasting coastal risks, particularly around the Amundsen Sea region.

via Space Daily|

#marine-ice-sheet-instability #ocean-warming #science

environment26 days ago•2 min saved

North Atlantic Cold Blob Signals Slower Ocean Conveyor

Scientists link a persistent cooling anomaly south of Greenland—the North Atlantic 'cold blob'—to a slowdown in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). A weaker AMOC could reduce the ocean's heat transport, shifting weather, storm tracks, and potentially accelerating sea-level rise along the U.S. East Coast, with the strongest impacts near Greenland, Iceland, and northern Europe.

via USA Today|

#amoc #cold-blob #environment

environment29 days ago•4 min saved

France-sized gap opens in West Antarctica’s winter sea ice as temperatures spike

A France-sized area of winter sea ice is missing from Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea, about 650,000 sq km below the 1991–2020 average. The loss coincides with extreme warmth on the Antarctic Peninsula (temps up to 15.4C, far above the norm) and is linked to ocean warming. The ice deficit threatens krill habitat, penguin breeding, and could hasten glacier melt and future sea-level rise, especially near Pine Island and Thwaites.

via The Guardian|

#antarctica #climate-change #environment

science1 month ago•7 min saved

Ancient Coasts, Living Memory: Aboriginal Stories as Clues to Post-Ice Age Seas

Some Australian Aboriginal stories may describe coastlines flooded as sea levels rose after the last Ice Age (roughly 7,000–13,000 years ago). Researchers calculate when the land could have looked that way by matching the minimum water depth required for the stories to be literally true with known sea‑level rise, yielding dates around 7,250–13,070 years ago. While this could make these among the oldest reliably dated oral traditions, many scholars caution that oral memories are hard to verify over millennia, and the evidence rests on interpreting secondhand accounts written down by colonial observers. Proponents argue that shared motifs across regions and a storytelling system with cross-checking could preserve accurate details, but the claim remains contested and not proven.

via Space Daily|

#aboriginal-knowledge #archaeology #coastlines

science1 month ago•4 min saved

Robotic Sub Uncovers Rugged Underbelly of Dotson Ice Shelf

A Swedish autonomous underwater vehicle named Ran mapped the Dotson Ice Shelf’s hidden underside, revealing a complex landscape of terraces, channels and teardrop-shaped cavities carved by ocean currents. The 2022 mission covered about 55 square miles across roughly 1,000 km in 27 days, providing the first high-resolution view of the ice shelf’s base. Ran disappeared on a 2024 follow-up dive, but the data show melting beneath Antarctica is more intricate than models predict, with implications for ice-shelf stability and potential sea-level rise.

via The Times of India|

#antarctica #dotson-ice-shelf #oceanography

world1 month ago•3 min saved

Britain-sized Antarctic Glacier Threatens Global Coasts

Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, nearly the size of Britain, could collapse sooner than expected, potentially adding about three metres to global sea levels and flooding coastlines worldwide. The glacier’s last ice shelf is poised to disintegrate as subsurface warming weakens the ice, putting the Netherlands, Bangladesh, the Maldives and other island nations at high risk. In the United States, major coastal cities like Miami, New York and New Orleans could face significant inundation, with projections that up to 60% of Miami-Dade County could be underwater.

via LADbible|

#climate-change #coastal-flooding #island-nations

science1 month ago•63 min saved

Doomsday Glacier teeters as its last ice shelf breaks this year

Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier, is poised to lose its eastern ice shelf this year, removing a key stabilizing buttress and likely accelerating ice loss. A full collapse could lift global sea levels by about 26 inches (65 cm), intensifying coastal flooding even if emissions drop, and potentially triggering further instability in West Antarctica. The melt is driven by warm deep ocean water entering the region and changes in Southern Ocean winds, a process linked to human-caused climate change. While models vary on exact timing, scientists agree the glacier’s retreat will have long-term, wide-reaching consequences for sea level rise.

via Live Science|

#antarctica #climate-change #glaciers

science1 month ago•59 min saved

Doomsday Glacier Nears Breakup, Raising Sea-Level Alarm

Antarctica’s West Antarctic “Doomsday Glacier,” Thwaites, is poised to lose its eastern ice shelf—an essential buttress that slows ice flow—potentially within 2026. Satellite data indicate the shelf’s detachment would accelerate ice loss and could contribute about 2 feet (65 cm) of global sea‑level rise if Thwaites collapses, with a full West Antarctic collapse threatening roughly 10.8 feet (3.3 m). The melt is driven by warm ocean water beneath the ice and winds linked to climate change, and scientists with the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration are actively monitoring the process.

via Live Science|

#antarctica #climate-change #ice-shelf

science1 month ago•10 min saved

Warming Oceans and Ice Melt Confirmed as Primary Drivers of Global Sea-Level Rise

A new Science Advances study shows global mean sea level has risen about 2.06 mm/year since 1960 and accelerated to 3.94 mm/year from 2005–2023, with ocean warming accounting for about 43% of the rise and ice melt from glaciers (27%), Greenland (15%), and Antarctica (12%) becoming larger contributors over time; corrections to satellite data and tide gauges resolve a long-standing measurement gap, and scientists warn sea level will keep rising for centuries even if emissions stabilize.

via SciTechDaily|

#antarctic-ice-sheet #glaciers #greenland-ice-sheet

climate1 month ago•186 min saved

New Orleans' watery future prompts urgent relocation planning, scientists warn

A Nature Sustainability analysis warns rising seas could surround New Orleans by century’s end, with Louisiana wetlands largely disappearing (up to about 75% lost) and shoreline retreating as much as 62 miles, prompting researchers to urge proactive relocation planning to avoid chaotic outcomes and widening inequality. The city’s bowl-like geography and heavy flood risk raise concerns about vulnerable residents and culture, while some experts see relocation as a potential model for climate resilience, despite political and social hurdles that have stalled large-scale protective measures like sediment diversions.

via CNN|

#climate #climate-change #new-orleans

climate1 month ago•186 min saved

Sea-Level Surge Could Enclose New Orleans, Scientists Warn

A Nature Sustainability study warns that rapid sea-level rise and coastal wetland loss could surround New Orleans by century’s end, prompting researchers to call for early, managed relocation planning to avoid chaotic displacement and widening inequalities while considering the city’s culture and vulnerable residents.

via CNN|

#climate #climate-change #new-orleans

science1 month ago•1 min saved

Thwaites Ice Shelf on Verge of Breakup, Raising Sea-Level Alarm

A 45-kilometer ice shelf in front of Antarctica's Thwaites glacier is actively cracking and breaking away, a development scientists describe as a potential tipping point that could unleash a rapid collapse of part of West Antarctica and raise global sea levels by roughly 13 to 16 feet; researchers noted unusually warm, fast-moving waters beneath the ice and attempted to monitor the collapse, signaling heightened risk to coastal regions worldwide.

via Futurism|

#antarctica #climate-change #ice-shelf

environment1 month ago•6 min saved

Ocean Warming and Ice Melt Push Global Sea Levels Higher, Study Finds

Global sea levels are rising at an accelerating pace driven mainly by warming oceans expanding water, with glaciers and ice sheets contributing increasingly; improved satellite and tide-gauge measurements close a long-standing discrepancy between observations and known causes, and scientists warn sea levels will keep rising for centuries due to climate inertia.

via ScienceDaily|

#environment #glaciers #ice-sheets

science1 month ago•24 min saved

Climate change could trigger a volatile, deadlier era for Atlantic hurricanes

New research suggests Atlantic hurricane seasons will swing wildly between hyperactive and quiet years due to warming, with more back-to-back landfalls and a higher risk of catastrophic storms. Forecasts indicate stronger, rainier, and slower-moving hurricanes driven by sea-level rise, while exposure continues to rise as more people live in flood-prone coastal areas—raising damages and mortality even as forecasting and building codes improve. Adaptation will be crucial as climate change reshapes hurricane behavior and coastal vulnerability.

via Yale Climate Connections|

#climate-change #extreme-weather #hurricane-damages