West Antarctic Ice Sheet Will Melt A Lot, No Way to Stop It

Eric Rignot at the University of California, Irvine, commends this modeling effort for its high-resolution approach. Ed Gasson from the University of Exeter agrees that the study is correct in suggesting that the West Antarctic ice sheet is heading for collapse.

He emphasises that, considering the current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and knowledge from paleoclimate studies, the eventual collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet isn’t surprising.

However, the speed at which this might happen remains uncertain. Both Rignot and Gasson point out that this study focuses solely on the ocean and doesn’t take atmospheric processes into account.

Rignot suggests that other research indicates that a rapid reduction in emissions could alter the winds around Antarctica &, consequently, ocean currents. Rignot disagrees with the notion that it’s too late to prevent this collapse entirely.

He believes that by aggressively reducing greenhouse gas emissions and additionally sequestering atmospheric carbon, returning to earlier 20th-century concentration levels might slow down the retreat.

However, the reality is that global greenhouse gas emissions are still increasing instead of decreasing. Meanwhile, in various coastal areas and cities worldwide, development continues, making it increasingly challenging to protect them from the rising sea levels.