91.5 Chapel Hill 88.9 Manteo 90.9 Rocky Mount 91.1 Welcome 91.9 Fayetteville 90.5 Buxton 94.1 Lumberton 99.9 Southern Pines 89.9 Chadbourn

How disappearing ice in Antarctica threatens the U.S.

By Rebecca Hersher

Published April 17, 2023 at 4:58 PM EDT

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Galveston, Texas has some of the fastest sea level rise in the world. To protect the city, engineers need to know how fast ice in West Antarctica will melt.

Ryan Kellman

Galveston, Texas, has some of the fastest sea level rise in the world. To protect the city, engineers need to know how fast ice in West Antarctica will melt. Scientists are racing to figure it out, often camping out on the ice for weeks on end to study the effects of climate change.

This story was edited by Neela Banerjee and Sadie Babits. It was produced by Ryan Kellman. Special thanks to Sean McConnell of the Rosenberg Library in Galveston, Texas, for assistance with archival audio and historical records.

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Rebecca Hersher

Rebecca Hersher (she/her) is a reporter on NPR's Science Desk, where she reports on outbreaks, natural disasters, and environmental and health research. Since coming to NPR in 2011, she has covered the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, embedded with the Afghan army after the American combat mission ended, and reported on floods and hurricanes in the U.S. She's also reported on research about puppies. Before her work on the Science Desk, she was a producer for NPR's Weekend All Things Considered in Los Angeles.

See stories by Rebecca Hersher