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Tests Suggest Waters Beneath Antarctic Shelf Not Warming The sea water beneath the Fimbul Ice Shelf in the East Antarctic appears to be very close to freezing, report scientists from the Norwegian Polar Institute, who recently drilled through the ice to measure water temperatures.
While the findings are good news, they also make it more difficult for scientists to understand the way Antarctica is being affected by climate change. Antarctic ice shelves have been breaking up, and many believed that phenomenon was due to higher ocean temperatures.
A regional computer model had also estimated that temperatures would be higher, reported Reuters.
With these holes drilled through the 820-1300-foot ice shelf, it will now be possible to monitor those temperatures and incorporate that data into new studies, including the next IPCC report, which is expected in 2013-2014. Many experts have revised their estimates for sea level rise in the last year or so, with 2009 UN estimates suggesting sea levels could rise by over six feet by 2100. |
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