Antarctic ice sheets

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What is really happening to Greenland icecap?

The Greenland ice cap has been a focal point of recent climate change research because it is much more exposed to immediate global warming than the larger Antarctic ice sheet. Yet while the southern Greenland ice cap has been melting, it is still not clear how much this is contributing to rising sea levels, and much further research is needed.

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Scientists probe Antarctic glaciers for clues to past and future sea level

International team exploring two of the last uncharted regions of Earth, the Aurora and Wilkes Subglacial Basins, to learn about past climate change and future impacts on global sea level

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Antarctica ice-sheet loss modeled

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet has been rapidly losing mass to the oceans over recent decades. The most significant losses have occurred across the Amundsen Sea coastline, where dynamical changes in outlet glaciers have led to increased discharge.

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Scientists endure Arctic for last campaign prior to CryoSat-2 launch

An international group of scientists has swapped their comfortable offices for one of the most inhospitable environments on the planet to carry out a challenging field campaign that is seen as the key to ensuring the data delivered by ESA's ice mission CryoSat will be as accurate as possible.

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New ancient Antarctic sediment reveals climate change history

Recent additions to the premier collection of Southern Ocean sediment cores at Florida State University’s Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility will give international scientists a close-up look at fluctuations that occurred in Antarctica’s ice sheet and marine and terrestrial life as the climate cooled considerably between 20 and 14 million years ago.

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Has the mystery of the Antarctic ice sheet been solved?

A team of scientists from Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences and Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales travelled to Africa to find new evidence of climate change which helps explain some of the mystery surrounding the appearance of the Antarctic ice sheet.

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Life in and under antarctic ice

Antarctica is home to the largest body of ice on Earth. Prior to approximately 10 years ago, no one thought that life could exist beneath the Antarctic ice sheets, which can be more than two miles thick in places, because conditions were believed to be too extreme.

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Glaciers, ice caps to dominate sea level rise this century

Ice loss from glaciers and ice caps is expected to cause more global sea rise during this century than the massive Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.

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Greenland's ancient forests shed light on stability of ice sheet

Ice cores drilled from southern Greenland have revealed the first evidence of a surprisingly lush forest that existed in the region within the past million years. The findings from an international study published today in the journal Science suggest that the southern Greenland ice sheet may be much more stable against rising temperatures than previously thought.

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Study of underground lakes in Antarctica could be critical

The discovery of interconnected lakes beneath kilometers of ice in Antarctica could be one of the most important scientific finds in recent years, but proper procedures need to be established before investigation begins, says a Texas A&M University scientist who is a leader in the research efforts.

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Antarctic Hidden Lakes Speed Ice Flow Into Ocean

Just as explorers once searched the vast reaches of Africa's Nile River for clues to its behavior and ultimate source, modern-day scientists are searching Antarctica for its hidden lakes and waterways that can barely be detected at the surface of the ice sheet.

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Tidal motion influences Antarctic ice sheet

New research into the way the Antarctic ice sheet adds ice to the ocean reveals that tidal motion influences the flow of the one of the biggest ice streams draining the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

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