User:Cruzb005/Climate change in Antarctica

2020s
A study using past global and climate models published in 2021, found that warming events across Antarctica are expected to become more frequent and longer. Moderate-emission projections from this study included warming events doubling in West Antarctica and tripling in the interior of East Antarctica.

The Thwaites Glacier is the widest glacier at about 120 km wide and it is a fast-melting formation that has been the focus of various climate change studies. In 2021, it was reported that giant fractures have been forming along the Thwaites Glacier which could result in the collapse of part of the shelf in five years. This glacier already loses about 50 billion tonnes of ice per year which contributes to 4% of all global sea-level rise.

The Antarctic ice sheet accounts for 90% of the world’s ice volume and 70% of all freshwater on Earth. Global warming has resulted in rapid mass loss of the Antarctica ice sheet. A study published in 2022, revealed that glacier melting from the Antarctica ice sheet accounted for most of the total freshening occurring in the Southern Ocean. The freshening of the Southern Ocean results in increased stratification and stabilization of the ocean. This would weaken overturning circulation and prevent saltier deep water from rising to the surface waters.