Jonathan L. Bamber et al., Science, 324 (2009): Reassessment of the potential sea-level rise from a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS)

Science, Vol. 324, No. 5929, pp. 901-903 (15 May 2009); DOI: 10.1126/science.1169335

Research Articles

Reassessment of the potential sea-level rise from a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

Jonathan L. Bamber,^1,* Riccardo E. M. Riva,² Bert L. A. Vermeersen,² and Anne M. LeBrocq<sup>3

Abstract</sup>

Theory has suggested that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet may be inherently unstable. Recent observations lend weight to this hypothesis. We reassess the potential contribution to eustatic and regional sea level from a rapid collapse of the ice sheet and find that previous assessments have substantially overestimated its likely primary contribution. We obtain a value for the global, eustatic sea-level rise contribution of about 3.3 m, with important regional variations. The maximum increase is concentrated along the Pacific and Atlantic seaboard of the United States, where the value is about 25% greater than the global mean, even for the case of a partial collapse.

¹ Bristol Glaciology Centre, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1SS, U.K.
² Delft Institute of Earth Observation and Space Systems, Delft University of Technology, NL-2629 HS Delft, Netherlands.
³ Department of Geography, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, U.K.

^*Correspondence, e-mail: j.bomber@bristol.ac.uk

Link to abstract: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/324/5929/901