Danish researchers warned in a latest study that global sea levels may rise more quickly than previously thought as a result of the warming climate's effects in Antarctica becoming more similar to those seen in the Arctic.
Ruth Mottram of the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) said in a statement, "Antarctica has long been considered more stable than the Arctic. But today, the picture has changed."
"Sea ice is disappearing. Temperatures are rising here too. Ice streams are accelerating, and meltwater is penetrating the crevasses in the glaciers, causing them to slide faster towards the sea," she added.
The development is "alarming, because the ice masses in the south have a dramatic potential in terms of rising sea levels here in the north," Mottram cautioned.
The Danish researcher and six other colleagues wrote a paper about the "Greenlandification of Antarctica" that was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
The term "Greenlandification" is used by the scientists to "predict changes in the Antarctic environment through the lens of well-observed and understood changes in Greenland," and their conclusions are based on climate models and satellite observations.
Mottram said, "We use the experiences from Greenland as a kind of 'laboratory' to understand the same processes in Antarctica."
"Unfortunately, it appears that our experiences from home are becoming increasingly relevant."
"The Antarctic cryosphere reflects a dynamic environment strongly influenced by regional atmosphere and ocean changes, more similar to Greenland than previously recognized," the study stated.
Sea levels would rise by roughly seven meters if Greenland's ice sheet melted completely.
DMI noted that the sea levels could rise by more than 50 meters if this happened in Antarctica.
