A group of Australian and British Scientists have discovered that ice in Antarctica is melting ten times faster and the situation is "the worst in 1,000 years," according to a report from Daily Mail.
Recently, two researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found evidence that suggested Arctic summer ice would melt completely in the next decade or two. After this surprising discovery, a group of Australian and British Scientists have found that Antarctica is in a similar state and Antarctic ice is melting ten times faster now. This situation is said to be the "worst in 1,000 years."
After the study was conducted, researchers stated that even a small rise in temperature could cause massive rush in the amount of ice melting in the area.
For the study, researchers drilled a 364m (1,197ft) deep ice core on James Ross Island, near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. This was used to measure past temperatures and compare them with summer ice melt levels.
Researchers discovered that even though temperatures have increased gradually over the last 600 years, the rate of melting of ice has increased intensely over the last 50 years, so much that it has been 10 times faster in the last half century.
"What it means is that the Antarctic peninsula has warmed to a level where even small increases in temperature can now lead to a big increase in summer ice melt," lead researcher Nerilie Abram, said. "This has important implications for ice instability and sea level rise in a warming climate."
Abram noted that this finding confirms that the climate and temperatures are changing rapidly in Antarctica.
The research, which was conducted by the Australian National University and the British Antarctic Survey, was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
