A new study revealed that even without global warming, the Pine Island Glacier may melt continuously, thus, leading to increased sea levels.
The Pine Island Glacier is a huge ice-stream in the Antarctica being monitored by the U.S Geological Survey and the U.S Navy. It occupies almost 10 percent of the west region.
To know more on what's happening with the world's biggest glaciers, scientists from United States and Germany studied quartz rocks, where the element beryllium reacts when in contact with cosmic rays. They found out that a similar event has happened about 8,000 years ago and lasted for decades.
Mike Bentley, a professor at Durham University in England and co-leader of the project, told Reuters, "It seems to be a similar mechanism now...it could easily continue for decades."
The United Nations' committee on climate change said, before 21st century ends, our world's sea level may increase by 10 to 32 inches (26 to 82 cm) due to global warming.
"Our findings reveal that Pine Island Glacier has experienced rapid thinning at least once in the past, and that, once set in motion, rapid ice sheet changes in this region can persist for centuries," the researchers wrote in the report.
The melting of the glaciers in the past, which was about 3-feet per year, was brought by natural climate change that warmed the sea, and scientists believe that the same thing is happening right now.
The experts explained that the amount of melted ice from the Pine Island Glaciers that is added in our oceans is comparable to every person on Earth pouring 10 pints of water in the ocean every day.
An increase in the sea level will cause a great threat to numerous cities around the globe like Shanghai, Buenos Aires, New York and London. It can flood cities with low-lying coasts such as Florida and Bangladesh, and sink islands around the Pacific.
This study was published in the Feb. 20 issue of Science.
