The West Antarctic ice shelf is rapidly melting away because of 435mph winds which are driven by climate change, a new study has found.

Strong gusts from the eastern coast are driving waves of warm water towards the ice, which is now melting at a faster rate than once believed, according to scientists.

This is fuelling the breaking off of vast icebergs in the West Antarctic – such as the iceberg on the Larsen C ice-shelf last week.

The iceberg weighs a staggering trillion tons and has an area of 2,239 sq miles (5,800 sq km), making roughly the size of Delaware, or equivalent to the size of Wales.

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This image shows the path of ocean waves push warm waters under the ice shelves of the West Antarctic Peninsula (seen top). These waves are generated by ultra-fast winds

WHY IS THE ICE MELTING? New research has revealed how strong winds from the east of Antarctica are driving the high rate of ice melt along the West Antarctic Peninsula. Researchers found that the winds in East Antarctica can travel across the continent at almost 435mph (700km/h) via a type of ocean wave known as a Kelvin wave. When these waves encounter the steep underwater cliffs off the West Antarctic Peninsula they push warmer water towards the large ice shelves along the shoreline. The warm Antarctic Circumpolar Current passes quite close to the continental shelf in this region, providing a source for this warm water. 'It is this combination of available warm water offshore, and a transport of this warm water onto the shelf, that has seen rapid ice shelf melt along the West Antarctic sector over the past several decades,' said lead researcher Dr Paul Spence from the University of New South Wales in Australia. Advertisement

In the latest study, researchers found climate change has caused water close to south pole to warm, as well as the increased frequency of strong winds in the region.

They looked at how strong winds from the east of Antarctica are driving the high rate of ice melt along the West Antarctic Peninsula.

Researchers found that the winds in East Antarctica can travel across the continent at almost 435mph (700km/h) via a type of ocean wave known as a Kelvin wave.

When these waves encounter the steep underwater cliffs off the West Antarctic Peninsula they push warmer water towards the large ice shelves along the shoreline.

The warm Antarctic Circumpolar Current passes quite close to the continental shelf in this region, providing a source for this warm water.

'It is this combination of available warm water offshore, and a transport of this warm water onto the shelf, that has seen rapid ice shelf melt along the West Antarctic sector over the past several decades,' said lead researcher Dr Paul Spence from the University of New South Wales in Australia.

'We always knew warm water was finding its way into this area but the precise mechanism has remained unclear.

The graphic above shows rates of thickness change around the Antarctic coastline with areas of most loss in the past 18 years indicated by red circles and areas where ice has increased shown by blue circles

ANTARCTIC TEMPERATURES REACH RECORD HIGH Antarctica experienced its highest temperatures on record in March, according to meteorologists. A research base near the northern tip of the Antarctic peninsula has set a heat record at 17.5°C (63.5°F). The Experanza base set the high on March 24, 2015, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said after reviewing data that was taken at the station. 'Verification of maximum and minimum temperatures help us to build up a picture of the weather and climate in one of Earth's final frontiers,' said Michael Sparrow, a polar expert with the World Climate Research Programme. Advertisement

'That remote winds on the opposite side of Antarctica can cause such a substantial subsurface warming is a worrying aspect of the circulation at the Antarctic margin.'

The changes in the Antarctic coastal winds, particularly along East Antarctica, might themselves be related to climate change.

This is because as the Earth warms the strong westerly winds associated with storms over the Southern Ocean contract toward the poles, in turn changing the winds near the Antarctic continent.

When the researchers modelled the impacts of these altered winds on Antarctica, they found that they could drive sea temperatures up by 1°C (34°F).

This could have significant implications for Antarctica's ice shelves and ice sheets, with previous research showing that even small increases in ocean temperatures can substantially increase melt rates around the Peninsula.

'For lack of precise estimates of future change, scientists have remained conservative in what this melting means for the globe,' Dr Spence said.

'But recent estimates suggest Antarctica could contribute more than a metre to sea-level rise by 2100, and over 15m (49ft) by 2500 under current emissions trajectories.

'This would be disastrous for coastal regions and displace hundreds of millions of people worldwide'.

He added that global warming could bring tropical storms to the continent, causing more ice to melt.

Dr Spence said: 'If we do take rapid action to counter global warming and slow the rise in temperatures, southern storms tracks are likely to return to a more northerly position.

'That may slow the melting in Western Antarctica and bring more reliable autumn and winter rains back to the southern parts of Australia.'

'It would also limit ocean warming and give some of the world's major marine-terminating ice sheets a chance to stabilise.

After months of anticipation, an enormous iceberg with an area of 2,239 sq miles (5,800 sq km) has finally broken off the Larsen C ice sheet on Wednesday

'It's vital we achieve this or we are likely to see more calving of large ice shelves, similar to the recent Larsen C event.'

The iceberg that broke off was found to have split off from the ice sheet after scientists examined the latest satellite data from the area on Wednesday

The process, known as calving, occurred in the last few days.

The ice shelf has now decreased in size by 10 per cent, leaving the ice front at its most retreated position ever recorded.

If the glaciers held in check by the iceberg now split into the Antarctic Ocean, it could lift the global water mark by about 10 centimetres (4 inches).

The iceberg, which is expected to be dubbed 'A68', is predicted to be one of the 10 largest icebergs ever recorded.