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Antarctica's ice melt over 25 years could fill Grand Canyon - study

August 11, 2020

Antarctica's melting ice shelves over the past 25 years have produced enough water to fill the Grand Canyon, according to a new study.

In the study, scientists zoomed out into space and used satellites to make precision measurements of the huge ice platforms that make up the continent, according to the BBC.

"The sea level comes when those ice shelves reduce the restraint that they exert on the rest of the Antarctic ice sheet which then flows faster into the ocean causing sea level rise," Prof David Vaughan, a science director from the British Antarctic Survey, told the publication.

The effects of cold, fresh water entering the deep sea around Antarctica are likely to be felt far beyond the polar south, though.

Researcher Susheel Adusumilli told the BBC the ocean played a role in controlling the climate around the world, as well as potentially rainfall patterns.

With many of the world's biggest cities by the coast, modelling future sea level rise accurately is crucial.

This study reveals how much of that accuracy depends on what's happening to the ice at the end of the world.

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