What is happening to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet?

Abstract

The West Antarctic ice sheet, which contains enough ice to raise sea level by 5 m, has been in the scientific spotlight over much of the last 30 years. Recent concern centers on whether all or part of the ice it contributes to the ocean might be delivered rapidly [ IPCC , 1996; Oppenheimer , 1998]. Investigating this potential has led Antarctic scientists to address a series of related questions: Why, when, and how much ice has been lost by the ice sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum? Was the ice sheet ever smaller during Glacial Minima than it is today? And, do the ice sheet's fringing ice shelves or its marine base make it inherently unstable?