Study Urges Closer Look at Antarctic Basin That Could Raise Seas

A new study published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment urges scientists to take a closer look at the Wilkes Subglacial Basin, warning that the region could become a significant driver of future sea-level rise, according to gizmodo.com.

The researchers combined existing data with computer modeling to predict how the basin could change as the climate warms. They found that ice retreat in some areas could reach around 1 kilometer per year beyond important bedrock pinning points.

The basin holds enough ice to raise global sea levels by up to 3 to 4 meters. The study also highlights major gaps in observations of the region, which the authors say need to be addressed.

The Wilkes Subglacial Basin is a huge depression in the bedrock beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, stretching roughly 1,400 kilometers along the inland side of the Transantarctic Mountains. The basin was once considered one of the more stable parts of Antarctica.

Its main glacier, Cook Glacier, has been thinning at an increasing rate since the 1990s and currently sends roughly 40 billion tonnes of ice into the ocean each year. Previous evidence points to the thinning and collapse of some of the ice shelves in the basin.