article_snippet.sent: Glaciers in the Amundsen Sea of West Antarctica are losing ice faster than anywhere else on the continent and are the largest contributors to the rise of sea levels.
article_snippet.sent: Glaciers in this region are losing ice faster than anywhere else on the continent and are the largest contributors to the rise of sea levels .
article_snippet.sent: Large icebergs can have large-scale impacts on the Southern Ocean.
article_snippet.sent: For example, as the bergs melt, the addition of cold, fresh water to the Southern Ocean can affect ocean currents and circulation.
article_snippet.sent: Researchers believe that the melting of glaciers in West Antarctica, which contain enough water to raise sea levels by at least a metre, may be irreversible.
article_snippet.sent: this is depleting the bulwark that prevents the permanent collapse of glaciers covering the southern continent.
article_snippet.sent: Ice barriers have an average thickness of between 400 to 500 meters (1,300 to 1,600 feet) and can extend hundreds of kilometers off eastern Antarctica.
article_snippet.sent: If Ice barriers becomes too thin Ice barriers would allow the permanent glaciers to slip into the ocean and start melting, sharply increasing the rise of ocean levels.
highlights_snippet.sent: Region is losing ice faster than anywhere on the continent and is the largest contributor to rise of sea levels .
  