Researchers believe they've discovered a cause of previous Antarctic ice shelf collapses, and it could be a warning sign of what's to come as our planet warms.
What's happening?
In a study published in the journal Nature, a team of researchers examined a series of ice shelf collapses that happened roughly 9,000 years ago to determine the cause behind the relatively rapid shift.
What they found was a combination of factors that created a feedback loop of problems.
While they move slowly, glaciers are not static; they effectively move downhill — and in Antarctica, they move toward the ocean.
In the instance the researchers were looking at, massive swathes of Antarctic ice disappeared in a short period of time, with much of it collapsing at the ice shelf.
What the scientists found was that warm deep water — called Circumpolar Deep Water — circulated under the ice shelf in East Antarctica as the oceans rose (and fresh meltwater from the ice sheet kept the ocean stratified). This played a significant role in expediting the ice shelf collapse and the eventual retreat of the ice sheet.
As more, warmer water flowed in under the ice, it began to collapse more quickly. The ice shelf collapse accelerated the flow of the inland ice toward the ocean, where it broke apart into massive chunks.
According to the scientists' modeling, a feedback effect occurred as the sea level continued to rise and meltwater kept the warm ocean water underneath the glacier, further expediting the collapse of the ice shelf and thinning of the ice farther inland.
Why is this study concerning?
Researchers are looking at our past to get an idea about what's going to happen in the future. As our planet warms at a rate far faster than ever before, we're seeing our polar ice caps and glaciers melting and retreating at rates far higher than anticipated.
Research like this helps us to understand why things seem to be getting worse faster than we'd previously thought, which may help us to better understand how to combat their disappearance before it's too late to stop it.
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Absolutely 👍 What's being done about melting glaciers?
The biggest thing we can do to slow the cascade effect that is beginning in glaciers at both poles is to reduce our carbon pollution, which will help to cool our planet and reduce glacial melt.
For individuals, this could mean replacing a gas-powered car with an EV, switching to solar panels, or electing candidates who support green legislation and initiatives.
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