(CNN) Satellite images show that two important glaciers in the Antarctic are sustaining rapid damage at their most vulnerable points, leading to the breaking up of vital ice shelves with major consequences for global sea level rise. The Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, which sit side by side in West Antarctica on the Amundsen Sea, are among the fastest changing glaciers in the region, already accounting for 5% of global sea level rise. At their base are permanent floating ice shelves that act as a buttress to the fast-flowing ice behind it. An example of this preconditioning can be seen in the unprecedented retreat of the @AntarcticPIG ice shelf front over the last years where the ice shelf lost 30% of its area. The cavities hidden beneath the ice shelf are likely to be the route through which warm ocean water passes underneath the ice shelf up to the grounding line, they said.

Source: CNN September 15, 2020 08:37 UTC