Scientists from the University of Maine, the British Antarctic Survey and Imperial College London say Antarctica's glaciers are melting faster than at any time in the last 5,500 years.. At the current rate of glacier retreat, sea levels could rise by 3.4 meters, Science Daily reports..

Antarctica is covered by two huge ice masses: the Eastern and Western ice sheets, consisting of many individual glaciers.. Due to climate change, Antarctica's glaciers have been melting at an accelerating rate over the past few decades.. Particularly vulnerable to global warming are the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers, which are already contributing to sea level rise..

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In a new study, scientists measured the rate of local sea level rise - an indirect way to measure ice loss - around the most vulnerable glaciers.. It turned out that the glaciers began to retreat at a rate that has not been observed for the past 5,500 years.. The area of \u200b\u200bthe Thwaites Glacier is 192 thousand square kilometers, and Pine Island - 162.3 million, their melting can significantly raise sea levels.

One of the authors of the study, Dylan Roode, said that these glaciers have been relatively stable for the past several thousand years, but now the rate of melting has reached such rates that it is already affecting sea levels..

“These currently elevated rates of ice melt may signal that these vital arteries from the heart of the West Antarctic ice sheet have been severed, causing an accelerated flow into the ocean that could have catastrophic consequences for future global sea levels.. Is it too late to stop the bleeding? "

In the middle of the Holocene, about 5,000 years ago, the climate was warmer than today, so sea levels were higher and glaciers were smaller.. In the course of the study, scientists sought to determine sea level fluctuations since the middle of the Holocene, so they studied the remains of ancient Antarctic beaches that rise above modern sea level..

The researchers studied ancient penguin shells and bones found on these beaches using radiocarbon dating, a technique that uses the radioactive decay of carbon trapped in shells and bones.. This allows you to determine how long they were above sea level..

When a heavy glacier is on the surface of the earth, it “loads” it; when the glaciers begin to melt, they “unload” the surface. As a result, it " By determining the exact age of these beaches, scientists were able to figure out when each of them appeared..

The results showed a constant drop in sea levels over the past 5,500 years.. This is consistent with relatively stable behavior of glaciers, with no evidence of large-scale ice loss or advancement..

Further sea level changes are consistent with large-scale ice loss in recent years.

Previously, scientists conducted a study that showed that rain will soon replace snowfall as the most common type of precipitation in the Arctic.. This will happen due to climate change and the heating of the northern polar region of our planet..