Satellites monitoring the state of the White Continent indicate some 200 billion tonnes a year are now being lost to the ocean as a result of melting.
This is pushing up global sea levels by 0.6mm annually - a three-fold increase since 2012 when the last such assessment was undertaken.
Scientists report the new numbers in the journal Nature.
Governments will need to take account of the information and its accelerating trend as they plan future defences to protect low-lying coastal communities.
The researchers say the losses are occurring predominantly in the West of the continent, where warm waters are getting under and melting the fronts of glaciers that terminate in the ocean.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44470208
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0179-y
See also: Ars Technica, Phys Org and University of Leeds.
(Score: 2) by fritsd on Friday June 15 2018, @04:50PM
Integrate it!
I thought you two said, in 2012 the rate of change was X, and in 2018?? (2012+6) it was tripled to 0.6 mm/year
Therefore it was 0.6/3 = 0.2 mm/year in 2012, right?
Sea level rise = start value + integral( rate of change * dt )
The reate of change is variable but we can assume it's linear (probably wrong) with 2 data points
r.o.c.(2012) = 0.2 mm/y
r.o.c.(2018) = 0.6 mm/y
derivative = (0.6-0.2)/(2018-2012) = 0.06666.. mm/y^2
r.o.c(y since 2012) = 0.2 mm/y + 0.0666 mm/y^2 * (y - 2012)
sea level(year Y) = sea level(2012) + integral _ 2012 ^ Y r.o.c(y - 2012) dy
= sea level(2012) + integral _2012 ^Y 0.2 + 0.0666 * (y-2012) dy = [ ( 0.2 - 0.0666*2012) *y + 1/2 * 0.0666 y^2 ] _ 2012 ^ Y + C, unit is mm.
= C + 134535.73333.. - 133.9333.. Y + 0.0333... Y^2 millimeters.
forget C just do it relative to 2012.
fill in:
2012 -> 0 w.r.t. 2012 level
2018 -> 2.4 mm.. shit! back to the drawing board.. I'm too tired from the week to do this now, sorry..