According to the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Goa there would be a 24% increase in the expansion of the Amery Ice Shelf (AIS) boundaries in Antarctica by 2021 and another 24 per cent by 2026 from its 2016 positions.
About Amery Ice Shelf:
The Amery Ice Shelf is a broad ice shelf in Antarctica at the head of Prydz Bay between the Lars Christensen Coast and Ingrid Christensen Coast.
It is part of Mac. Robertson Land.
The name “Cape Amery” was applied to a coastal angle mapped on February 11, 1931.
The AIS is one of the largest glacier drainage basins in the world, located on the east coast of Antarctica, at about 70ºS Latitude, 70ºE Longitude.
The AIS dynamics and mass balance help in understanding the changes in the global climate scenario.
About Ice Shelves:
The floating sheets of ice called ‘ice shelves’ play a multi-faceted role in maintaining the stability of a glacier. Ice shelves connect a glacier to the landmass.
The ice sheet mass balance, sea stratification, and bottom water formation are important parameters for the balancing of a glacier. Latent and sensible heat processes do play important roles here.
The insulation of ice shelves from atmospheric forcing is dependent on a temperature gradient that the ocean cavity beneath the ice shelves provides.
It is the pressure exerted by the ice shelves upon the ocean cavity that determines this temperature gradient.