New research released Thursday revealed that ice sheets in Antarctica are thinning even more rapidly than scientists previously believed, with ice melting at five times the rate it did in the 1990s. Some areas, researchers at Leeds University in the U.K. reported, are now about 328 feet (100 meters) thinner than they were less than three decades ago—putting the planet in danger of a major sea level rise which could wipe out coastal cities. Much of the ice loss is taking place in the West Antarctic ice sheet, a quarter of which is now considered “unstable” by scientists. The loss of the entire ice sheet would mean a global sea level rise of about 16 feet—wiping out coastal cities around the world.
— source commondreams.org | May 16, 2019