南極に関する話題をもう一つ。南極大陸の氷河が急速に溶け出しているという記事が出ていた。これによると、南極にある氷河の２４４ある氷河の８７％が後退（AP通信の記事では南極半島から海にまで通じる氷河という記述がある）してしまったらしい。
Antarctic glaciers show major melting
WASHINGTON - A comprehensive survey of Antarctic glaciers shows the continent is melting worse than thought.
The three-year study by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and U.S. Geological Survey used more than 2,000 aerial and satellite photographs. They document how 87 per cent of 244 glaciers have retreated over the past 50 years.
Glacier-ice shelves are floating glaciers that remain connected to the land, while tidewater glaciers rest on rock off the ocean.
南極の氷が溶け出すことによって懸念されるのは、海面上昇だろう。しかし、南極の氷がこのことに与える影響については、まだ分らない部分が多いようである。AP通信記事では、次のような記事を伝えている。
Evidence from the main Antarctic ice sheet is mixed, with some areas of the continent showing shrinkage and others showing thickening.
Ice shrinkage has also been documented in Alaskaand the North Pole.
Scientists worry about the melting of the ice sheets because the extra water may increase sea levels, which in turn could mean more flooding damage to coastal areas during storms.
Sea levels have risen by 4-8 inches over the last 100 years.However, the study was not able to tell whether the shrinkage is having a meaningful impact on sea levels.
It also is unclear whether changes in the larger ice sheet in Antarcticaare contributing to a sea-level rise, Vaughansaid.
"This is another piece in the jigsaw that tells us how climate change is affecting the planet. It may not be a significant piece, but there's a million-piece jigsaw out there to be filled in ... and this is one piece in it," Vaughansaid.
最後に今回の記事に関して、CBCの記事とAP通信の記事は、同じ研究発表に対する記事だけれども、全文を読むと報道内容のニュアンスが若干異なっている部分がなぜか多いように思われる。
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