Weatherwatch: how a warmer world and more rain could transform Antarctica

Shrinking and faster-moving glaciers, weakened ice shelves and more icebergs would bring fundamental changesYou don't need an umbrella in Antarctica. With an average of just 16cm of precipitation each year, this continent is the world's largest desert. But all that could change. A study shows that as the world warms, Antarctica is going to experience more rain, bringing with it fundamental changes to the landscape and wildlife inhabiting this unique environment.Bethan Davies, a glaciologist at Newcastle University, has been leading a team studying the impact of a warming climate on the Antarctic peninsula. Under faster warming scenarios (2C or more this century) they report in Frontiers in Environmental Science that snow and rain could increase by more than 20%, with increasing amounts falling as rain. Continue reading...