 | 1) Glaciers in Antarctica ① ___ ______ ______ and ______ ___ ______ ______ ______ than _________ ______ . This is a development that threatens to raise sea levels worldwide and force millions of people to flee low-lying areas.
2) Researchers once believed that the melting was limited to the Antarctic Peninsula, a narrow tongue of land pointing toward South America. But satellite data and automated weather stations now indicate it is more widespread. "The melting ② _____ _________ _____ ____ ____ _____ ___ west Antarctica," said Colin Summerhayes, Executive Director of the Britainbased Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.
3) By the end of the century, the accelerated melting ③ ______ ______ ____ ______ ___ ______ by 3 to 5 feet. Making matters worse, scientists said, the ice shelves that hold the glaciers back from the sea are also weakening.
4) The biggest of the western glaciers, the Pine Island Glacier, is moving 40 percent faster than it was in the 1970s, discharging water and ice more rapidly into the ocean. The Smith Glacier, also in west Antarctica, is moving 83 percent faster than in 1992.
5) The glaciers are ④ ________ _____ ____ _____ ______ because the floating ice shelf that would normally stop them is melting. And the glaciers' discharge ⑤ ___ _______________ ____________ ___ ____________ ____ _______. If the west Antarctica sheet collapses, sea levels could rise between 3 and 5 feet.
6) All the glaciers in west Antarctica are losing a total of 114 billion tons per year because ⑥ ____ ________ ___ _____ _______ _____ ____ _________. It's more weight than 312,000 Empire State Buildings. |
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