As Science Program Completes Reports, Research Focuses On Increased Glacial Melt

摘要

Climate change may cause rapid ice melt, increased methane emissions, changes in temperature-flow patterns in the Atlantic Ocean, and changes in precipitation, according to a report from the federal Climate Change Science Program.rnThe report, Abrupt Climate Change, concluded that observations of the edges of the ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica show an increase in the speed at which the glaciers are melting, but it is "unclear whether this imbalance is a short term natural adjustment or a response to climate change."rnStill, regardless of whether the adjustments in the ice sheet are natural, the report found that "processes causing accelerations are enabled by warming, so these adjustments will very likely become more frequent in a warmer climate."