Climate News Glaciers Not Melting As Fast As Once Thought
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17 July 2009
The world’s glaciers are indeed melting, but a monumental study released Thursday in the journal Science discovered that it might not happen as quickly as once thought.
The study notes that there are more gradual shifts in the current systems in the North Atlantic Ocean, instead of a rapid meltdown that could cause swift climate changes to Europe and other places.
The research, based on a "general circulation model" that replicated the Earth's climate 21,000 years at the height of the last Ice Age, indicates that although huge changes in the ocean current systems are probable, they might take place more gradually than originally thought.
The current pace of glacial melt will "give ecosystems more time to adjust to new conditions," stated study coauthor Peter Clark, a professor of geosciences at Oregon State University, to AFP.
