East Antarctic “is much more sensitive” to changes in climate than estimated, according to a scientific study, which ensures that the sea level could rise final 20 meters to Century if this area, the western Antarctic and Greenland melt suffer as in the Pliocene.
These are two of the findings of an international study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, led by researchers from Imperial College London and Spanish participation.
In the Pliocene, between 5.33 million years ago and 2.58 million years ago, the Earth experienced a global temperature increase that came to be between 2 and 3 degrees Celsius higher than today and similar to the scheduled for the end of the century. The concentration of atmospheric CO2, meanwhile, was equal to that of today.
Both factors led to the fusion of the ice planet, prompting a sea level rise of 20 meters , recalled in a note the Scientific Research Council (CSIC), signer research.
Until now, it was known that the sea rose 10 meters due to the melting of Greenland and West Antarctic but according to the article, there was no evidence that the East Antarctic ice had added another 10 meters at sea level. The ice of the Antarctic, whose surface is equivalent to that of Australia, was formed 34 million years ago and was considered at steady state for 14 million years.
However, according to this research, this area Antarctica is “much more sensitive than previously thought so far,” confirmed Francisco Jose Jimenez Espejo, now at the University of Nagoya (Japan) and earlier in the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences (CSIC joint center and the University of Granada).
Similarity
Pliocene data
According to this article, given the similarity between the variables of atmospheric CO2 and temperature of the Pliocene and the present time, the consequences if there was a thaw continental -East and West Greenland and Antarctic-could be the same at the end of this century. “Sea levels could rise 20 meters to the end of the century”, according to this work.
Carlota Escutia, the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences, has opined that it is “very important to understand what will be the possible consequences” in view of the similarity data.
Researchers have reached these conclusions through the analysis Pliocene marine mud samples Eastern Antarctic. These samples were obtained over three kilometers below the Antarctic coast in the 2010 campaign of the International Ocean Drilling, coliderada by the CSIC.
As explained Jimenez, there are also the mud rocks that were carried by glaciers and icebergs.
researchers, through their analysis, have recognized the place of origin of these rocks and from there have been able to reconstruct the extent of glaciers over time. The Spanish team, according to Jimenez, has been commissioned to do various analyzes sedimentological, mineralogical and geochemical studies have allowed to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions during the Pliocene.
The analysis revealed that the ice mass was considered stable important actually suffers partial melting .
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