Why is Antarctica's Totten Glacier shrinking faster than its neighbors?

This image shows the Totten Glacier ice shelf in East Antarctica (the wrinkled white area at top left) on Sept. 25, 2013. Two large sea ice openings are visible, as are as several smaller ones. The open-water areas are bright black.

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NASA / JPL

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This picture shows how openings in sea ice, known as polynya, help create cold, dense water that protects the base of a glacier from the melting effects of warmer ocean water.

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NASA / JPL

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This chart shows the amount of thinning of both the Totten Glacier and its neighbor the Moscow University Glacier. The dark blue lines on Totten indicate more significant lowering of the glacier's surface.

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NASA / JPL

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Figuring out what causes glaciers to shrink is important because melting glaciers are one of the factors behind rising sea levels.

For years, climate scientists have watched with concern as an ice sheet in Western Antarctica has steadily decreased in mass. Recently more attention is being paid to the Eastern side of the continent at the bottom of the world.

A new study from scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena finds some glaciers there are also shrinking, and one in particular is melting much faster than others around it.

From the KPCC Science Desk, Sanden Totten has more.