Channelized Topography Amplifies Melt-Sensitivity of Cold Antarctic Ice Shelves

Channelized topography amplifies melt-sensitivity of cold Antarctic ice shelves

The stability of Antarctic ice shelves, which regulate the flow of grounded ice into the ocean, depends critically on ocean-driven basal melting. Basal channels, widespread features beneath many ice shelves, modulate ice-shelf basal melt rates and influence ice-shelf stability, yet their oceanic drivers remain poorly understood. Using high-resolution simulations of a cold-water ice shelf cavity, we show that interactions between circulation and …

Rapidly melting Antarctic ice shelves may cause global sea levels to rise far faster than expected

Global sea levels may rise faster than previously expected, suggests a new study in Nature Communications. The reason is that warming oceans appear to be melting Antarctic ice shelves from below much more rapidly than expected.