Aberystwyth researcher on team which finds Antarctic glaciers melting faster than ever
Glaciers in northern Antarctic Peninsula melting faster than ever - despite increased snowfall. Increased snowfall will not prevent the continued melting of glaciers in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, according to new research published today (Sunday 14 September) in the journal Nature Climate Change. An international team of researchers, which includes Professor Neil Glasser from Aberystwyth University, has discovered that small glaciers that end on land around the Antarctic Peninsula are highly vulnerable to slight changes in air temperature and may be at risk of disappearing within 200 years. Temperatures are currently rising rapidly in the Antarctic Peninsula. Because warmer air holds more moisture, the amount of snowfall has also increased. Some researchers have suggested that this may offset the melting of the glaciers in the future. However, this study found that even small increases in air temperature increased melting so much that even large amounts of extra snowfall ...