More WAIS (W. Antarctica) instability?

[zankaon]

Main Question or Discussion Point

see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7261171.stm" [Broken]

 

[Andre]

You wouldn't believe this:

The reason does not seem to be warming in the surrounding air.

One possible culprit could be a deep ocean current that is channelled onto the continental shelf close to the mouth of the glacier. There is not much sea ice to protect it from the warm water, which seems to be undercutting the ice and lubricating its flow.

We may be witnessing the beginning of a Heinrich event, generally not associated with warming.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v434/n7037/full/nature03544.html are known from Antarctica as well