Major Sea Level Rise Likely As Antarctic Ice Melts

By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website

Sea levels are likely to rise by about 1.4m (4ft 6in) globally by 2100 as polar ice melts, according to a major review of climate change in Antarctica. Conducted by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), it says that warming seas are accelerating melting in the west of the continent. Ozone loss has cooled the region, it says, shielding it from global warming. Rising temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula are making life suitable for invasive species on land and sea. The report - Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment - was written using contributions from 100 leading scientists in various disciplines, and reviewed by a further 200. SCAR's executive director Dr Colin Summerhayes said it painted a picture of "the creeping global catastrophe that... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8387137.stm