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Science 22 April 2005:
Vol. 308. no. 5721, pp. 541 - 544
DOI: 10.1126/science.1104235
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Reports

Retreating Glacier Fronts on the Antarctic Peninsula over the Past Half-Century

A. J. Cook,1* A. J. Fox,1 D. G. Vaughan,1 J. G. Ferrigno2

The continued retreat of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula has been widely attributed to recent atmospheric warming, but there is little published work describing changes in glacier margin positions. We present trends in 244 marine glacier fronts on the peninsula and associated islands over the past 61 years. Of these glaciers, 87% have retreated and a clear boundary between mean advance and retreat has migrated progressively southward. The pattern is broadly compatible with retreat driven by atmospheric warming, but the rapidity of the migration suggests that this may not be the sole driver of glacier retreat in this region.

1 British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
2 U.S. Geological Survey, 926A National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192–0002, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: acook{at}bas.ac.uk

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