Like the Greenland ice sheet, the West Antarctic ice sheet is also losing mass.

就像格陵兰冰原一样，西部南极冰原也正在流失。

Their presence implies that the West Antarctic ice sheet must have disappeared during that time.

从它们的出现可以推论，西部南极冰原在当时应该不存在。

INDICATIONS THAT the West Antarctic ice sheet might be in the midst of a vanishing act first began cropping up about 30 years ago.

在大约30年前，科学家首度指出南极洲西部的冰原可能正处于缩减状态。

If coastal ice shelves buttressing the west Antarctic ice sheet continue to disintegrate, the sheet could disgorge into the ocean, raising sea levels by several metres in a century.

假如支撑西南极洲冰盖的沿岸冰架持续解体，那么冰盖就会泄入海洋，百年之内海平面便将上升数米。

Presently, most research is concentrated on the coastal ice shelves of WAIS (West Antarctic Ice Sheet), very few work has been done for in-land glaciers in East Antarctica.

目前的研究重点主要在西南极沿岸冰架地区，东南极内陆冰盖地区涉足很少。

As a primary outlet for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the Pine Island Glacier is one of the largest sources of uncertainty in global sea level rise projections.

作为南极西部冰盖的基本出口，松岛冰川全球海平面上升预测中最大的不确定性之一。