Scientists Link Climate Change to Melting in West Antarctica

Shift in Ocean Winds Are Eroding Edges of the Ice Sheet

A new study has for the first time presented solid evidence that human-caused global warming is linked to melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Scientists already knew that periodically changing winds in the region have caused an increase in warm ocean conditions around key glaciers in West Antarctica, and that this is causing them to lose ice. But they did not know whether changes in the winds could be linked to global warming. The new study shows that changes in the winds have indeed been influenced in part by warming climate, along with shorter-term natural variations in climate. The findings were published today in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Read more on State of the Planet, a blog from Columbia University's Earth Institute.