Adam Bandt: West Antarctica Collapse Would Be “Apocalyptic” For Australia
No matter how much work we do to cut carbon emissions, the ice shelf in West Antarctica will now inevitably melt at accelerated speeds. Cool, cool, cool.
Yes, if you’re wondering, that is not good news. The West Antarctic ice sheet is much thinner and smaller than the East sheet — which is considered to be the “sleeping giant” of sea level rise — but if it melts completely it will raise ocean levels by five metres. Comparatively, if the Eastern sheet were to melt, levels would rise by 52 metres. Those five metres, however, will have consequences for coastal communities around the world. Some might even have to be abandoned entirely.
A new study shows the rate of melting in the Amundsen Sea will be three times faster in the 21st century than the 20th century. That’s even if we meet the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degree heating. Can I just crawl into a hole forever?
To put the news into context, let’s break down exactly what the West Antarctic ice sheet actually is and what the melting means globally.
What Is The West Antarctic Ice Sheet?
If you, like me, are confused by the geography of Antarctica, it’s easier to think of it broken into three parts. West Antarctica, East Antarctica, and the Antarctic Peninsula. Pine Island Glacier — the fastest melting glacier in the region responsible for 25 percent of ice loss — is located in West Antarctica.
The Peninsula is where US, UK, French, and Australian research stations are situated. This region, which points towards South America, is warming much faster than the rest of the continent. Both West and East Antarctica are divided by the Transantarctic Mountains. East Antarctica is around five kilometres thick and is more stable than the West Antarctic shelf. The West Antarctic ice sheet is only two kilometres thick and largely below sea level. Warming Southern Ocean water has made its way under the ice, speeding up glacier flow. Both sides are losing mass but West Antarctica’s is rapid.
How Will The Antarctic Ice Shelf Melting Impact Us?
Dr Kaitlin Naughten, head researcher on the West Antarctic study, told The Guardian that we “may have lost control of the ice shelf melting over the 21st century”, which is worse than they originally thought. The Guardian also spoke to Dr Taimoor Sohail from the University of New South Wales who said that the collapse is a “worrying climate tipping point” with dire implications for sea-level rise. Awesome!
Given that Australia is positioned above a large portion of Antarctica, any rise in sea level will no doubt impact us. According to the IPCC, the collapse of marine-based sectors in Antarctica could cause “global mean sea level to rise substantially”. Australian coastal cities, especially around the south-east, will experience greater than global average sea level rises, according to projections made by Coast Adapt. West Antarctica is currently the world’s largest marine ice sheet. So yeah, not great.
However, researchers still don’t know how much of the West Antarctic sheet will melt, even though it is already contributing to global rising sea-levels. It currently loses around 80 billion tonnes of ice per year. Their study said that they have “every reason to believe that increased ice-shelf melting” in West Antarctica will speed up rising sea levels.
“The collapse of this shelf would be apocalyptic,” Adam Bandt, leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for Climate Change and Energy, told Junkee. “Over three metres of sea level rise would see many coastal communities wiped off the map, the total destruction of our beaches, and the shape of the continent forever changed.”
“With severe flooding already killing people and devastating communities, stopping the collapse of the West Antarctic ice shelf must be a global priority,” he added.
What Is Australia Doing To Address Rising Sea Levels?
It’s frustrating to read about the inevitability of the rapid speed the West Antarctic ice shelf will melt when we knew it could happen back in 1978. At the time, John Mercer raised concern that climate change would cause a “collapse” of the West Antarctic ice sheet, causing economic and social impacts then unheard of. That was 45 years ago. I can’t help but think of what could have been done to prevent us from ending up in this position today.
Interestingly, Australia has sovereignty over 42 percent of Antarctica, including the adjacent offshore areas. You’d think then that the government would make Antarctica a priority. Recently, Labor flagged that it may cut funding to research from the Australian Antarctic Division. It was criticised for coming at a time when Antarctica sea ice had reached a record low-point.
To be fair, the Labor Government has had a keen focus on climate change, making it one of their biggest election platforms. Senator Jenny McAllister, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, told Junkee that “after a decade of denial and delay, the Albanese Government is taking strong action to limit climate change and protect Australians by identifying and assessing the risks posed by climate change like sea level rise”.
“The Albanese Government is investing in the necessary action to drive down emissions and turbocharge national efforts to mitigate and adapt to current and emerging climate risks,” McAllister added.
Labor’s climate policies have been called into question several times, however. Greens spokesperson for healthy oceans Senator Peter Whish-Wilson has said previously that “Instead of finding fossil fuels, the Albanese Government should be funding Antarctic science”.
“Every coal and gas project approved by Labor makes the climate crisis worse and pushes the West Antarctic ice shelf to the brink,” Bandt told Junkee. “Labor has already approved five coal projects since taking power — they need to stop.”
It’s hard to read news like this without spiralling into a deep hole of climate anxiety. The Antarctic researchers noted that it’s hard to give people hope when sharing bad news, especially when science says our efforts may be futile. But this is the world we now live in. We have to adapt to the consequences of climate change that we’ve brought about.
The researchers point to the advice of atmospheric scientist Kate Marvel, who believes that we need to be courageous in the face of climate change, not hopeful. It’s grim but we need the collective courage to continue on without “the assurance of a happy ending” and shift our attention to ensuring coastal towns are equipped to deal with rising sea levels.
Ky is a proud Kamilaroi and Dharug person and writer at Junkee. Follow them on Instagram or on X.
Image credit: Unsplash / Junkee