Three glaciers in West Antarctica have undergone "intense unbalanced melting," risking their stability and further acceleration of sea level rise.

New research published in Nature Communications found that the Smith, Pope and Kohler glaciers in the Amundsen Sea embayment collectively lost about 1,000 feet of ice from 2002 to 2009.



Map of flow speeds at the Smith, Pope and Kohler Glaciers. NASA

This rapid melt shows how glaciers are being eaten away from the bottom due to a large increase in ocean heat.



For a deeper dive:



Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, NPR, Climate Central, Mashable, Washington Post, TakePart, Xinhua, Gizmodo, Motherboard

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