Like a magnifying glass on an anthill, excessive emissions from burning fossil fuels is melting the Antarctic ice sheet. The faster it liquefies, the more we're faced with the dire prospect of extreme sea level rise. Scientists have debated whether a "tipping point" exists for this ice sheet, or a moment when the effects of this melting would be suddenly both irreversible and catastrophic.
Now a recent study in the journal Nature Geoscience reveals that such a tipping point may indeed exist. As it turns out, scientists have misunderstood a key aspect of the physical process behind the Antarctic ice sheet's ongoing melting, and therefore have underestimated the ultimate impact of climate change on Antarctica.
