Antarctic discovery raises concerns

Scientists suggest that even a slight rise in ocean temperatures would lead to a sudden acceleration in the melting of ice in Antarctica.

“We discovered that rising ocean temperatures could lead to a tipping point, after which unlimited amounts of ocean water would penetrate under the ice sheet due to uncontrollable melting,” British scientists Alexander Bradley and Ian Hewitt wrote in an article published in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience.

According to them, the rise in seawater temperature, which causes the gradual melting of the ice layer and penetrates under the shield, will sooner or later cause the voids in the ice to fill very quickly, which will greatly accelerate the process of its melting. But it is very difficult to predict the onset of such a "tipping point" for the ice layer.

The two scientists add: “Our results showed greater sensitivity to the process of melting the ice sheet due to rising ocean temperatures, and thus a greater contribution of climate warming to sea level rise.”

Russian climate scientist Alexei Kokorin points out in an interview with the Russian Novosti News Agency that it is not unlikely that the rise in ocean levels in the twenty-second century will reach 5 meters, but this will happen in the worst scenarios, and under the influence of all factors, including human influence and thermal expansion of water. .