Âé¶¹´«Ã½

Earth

Peering beneath glacier might explain speedier slide

By Anil Ananthaswamy

30 January 2008

Âé¶¹´«Ã½. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

(Image: David Vaughan/SPL)

It must be one of the most dangerous places on Earth to be doing science. Last month, researchers landed on the Pine Island glacier in Antarctica to prepare to make measurements on the ice in the area. The work is crucial. Without it, evidence suggesting that global warming is having a far greater effect on the region than anyone thought will go unrecognised by official climate models.

This remote and heavily crevassed mass of ice is one of many glaciers at the fringes of the massive West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS). In 2004, satellite measurements showed that…

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