Researchers estimate that a rise in sea level from the rapid collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would be on the order of 3.3 meters, approximately half of previous estimates. The consequences of such an event would be felt more profoundly along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the United States.
Global monitoring of Earth’s fresh water can best be done from space. The Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth series includes a highlight on the value of GRACE data in the ‘Freshwater’ segment.
Study lead, NASA’s Eric Rignot, says the increased contribution of Antarctica to global sea level rise indicated by the study warrants closer monitoring. >>
A time-mean Dynamic Ocean Topographic, and derived geostrophic velocities, computed from the latest Mean Sea Surface and Geoid models, have been added.
