Antarctic ice will be halved by 2050

Washington: The surface melting of Antarctic ice shelves may double by 2050 and surpass intensities associated with ice shelf collapse by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the present rate, a new study warned on Tuesday. Ice shelves are the floating extensions of the continent’s massive land-based ice sheets, researchers said.
While the melting or breakup of floating ice shelves does not directly raise sea level, ice shelves do have a “door stop” effect: They slow the flow of ice from glaciers and ice sheets into the ocean, where it melts and raises sea levels. “Our results illustrate just how rapidly melting in Antarctica can intensify in a warming climate,” said Luke Trusel, scholar at WHOI in the US.