[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ccording to a new scientific pole of experts, we can expect global sea level to rise by more than three feet by the end of the century. This dramatic rise is due primarily to the melting of glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland.
Melt water in NW Greenland. Photo credit: NOAA.
“The consequences are horrible,” Jonathan Bamber, a glaciologist at the University of Bristol and a co-author of the study, told NBC News.
The exact amount by which sea level will rise is still debated by scientists. In addition, the complexity of glaciers adds a whole other level of uncertainty. Bamber and co-author Willy Aspinall set out to determine the most likely scenario by polling 26 of the world’s leading glaciologists. About half answered the questions in 2010 and they were re-polled in 2012.
“We analyzed the results in a very systematic, rigorous, and statistically robust way,” Bamber said.
The results:
[highlight color=”black”]…[/highlight] average estimate: melting ice will contribute one foot to sea level rise
[highlight color=”black”]…[/highlight] there’s a five percent chance that ice could contribute over 2.8 feet
[highlight color=”black”]…[/highlight] if thermal expansion is included, estimates exceed three feet
“The numbers we are getting out of our elicitation reflect the fact that the world leaders in this field are now cognizant of the fact that the ice sheets are quite responsive and, in particular, there is a potential for them to make a really quite dramatic contribution,” Bamber said.
Sources, marinesciencetoday.com / NBC News / NOAA
