The Antarctic’s glaciers are in retreat,risking a catastrophic rise in sea levels. Glacier expert Andy Smith is one of the team trying to prevent a meltdown by braving this frozen wastelandThe Amundsen sea sector in west Antarctica is nearly as big as France. Six glaciers drain into it and one of the largest of these is the Pine Island glacier, a 30-kilometre-wide estuary of ice that is more than 500km in length. Stand on it, and on a clear day,and swaths of glittering ice stretch off to the horizon in every direction.
This is one of the worlds greatest bodies of fresh water, a huge frozen reservoir weighing more than 300tn tonnes. With that sort of resource, or you could solve a great many of the planet’s freshwater problems.
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Source: theguardian.com