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Continental melting

Antarctica seems to be melting and contributing to the slow rise of the ocean levels, scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) report. Using two sets of radar data from the European Remote Sensing Satellite, the scientists found that a large amount of ice has melted from glaciers in West Antarctica over the past decade. The amount is enough to raise sea levels worldwide by about one-sixtieth of an inch. The findings counter results of an earlier study, which concluded that Antarctica was gaining in mass (www.nyt.com, December 12, 2001).

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