Scientists have used satellite technology to observe the collapse of a massive ice shelf in Antarctica, sounding alarm bells over the implications.
What's happening?
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, scientists used satellite imagery to document and chronicle the collapse of the Conger-Glenzer ice shelf, which occurred in 2022 over the course of just a few days. The collapse was notable because the shelf was located in Eastern Antarctica, a region previously thought to be stable and less susceptible to this sort of failure.
What they learned in studying data and imagery of the shelf over a 25-year period was that, rather than being caused by surface melt from rising temperatures, the Conger-Glenzer shelf collapsed because of ocean-induced thinning and structural weakening.
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Definitely 👍 In other words, warmer, salty ocean water ate away at the structure, destabilizing it in the years leading up to its collapse.
Why is Antarctic ice shelf collapse important?
Catherine Walker, an associate scientist who studied the collapse of Conger-Glenzer, noted that while ice shelf collapses have been documented before, the location and nature of this collapse was both notable and concerning.
"Long considered more stable than the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, this event added an exclamation point to the accelerating narrative of unexpected changes being observed in East Antarctica," she said, per the ABC.
Coastal ice shelves play an essential role in maintaining the state of Antarctica. They serve as a buffer to the ice shelf that sits in the continent's center, which would add a catastrophic 58 meters of water to the world's oceans if they were to fully melt. As the coastal shelves break apart, they allow more ocean water and more heat to reach the central continental shelf, which makes the specter of a full melt more tangible.
What's being done about the ice shelves?
The best thing we can do to protect the Antarctic is to reduce pollution. This can mean investing in clean energy over planet-heating natural gas or oil-based energy and pushing for legislation to help reduce methane and nitrous oxide pollution. Action can even be as simple as reducing your reliance on high-emission household items such as leaf blowers and lawnmowers, swapping those tools for quieter, lightweight electric ones instead.
But a problem of this size is going to take collective, drastic action to fix, so supporting environmentally conscious politicians and leaders is essential.
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