Continental loss: the quest to determine Antarctica’s contribution to sea-level change
Presenter: Matt King
Published: June 2015
Age: 14-19 and upwards
Views: 1569 views
Tags: Antarctic;sea-level;climate;ice-sheet;melt
Type: Lectures
Source/institution: Royal Society
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For over 50 years scientists have been working to understand Antarctica’s contribution to sea level. For much of this time there has even been disagreement about if this massive ice sheet is growing or shrinking. In 2012, advances in data analysis and computer modelling resulted in the first reconciled estimate of change being achieved. This showed that Antarctica is increasingly contributing to sea-level rise. During this lecture Professor King explains some of the major advances that led to this reconciled estimate, and highlights some of the fascinating things we can learn about Earth from the vantage-point of Antarctica; these take us from hundreds of miles above Earth’s surface to hundreds of miles below, and from present-day ice sheet changes to those that happened 20,000 years ago.
