#Antarctic #IceShelf #IceMelt #feedbackloop #WaterStratification
Original open access article
Suganuma et al. 07 Nov. 2025, Nat. Geosci.
Antarctic ice-shelf collapse in Holocene driven by meltwater release feedback
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01829-7
#ClimateScience #climatechange #ClimateEmergency #ClimateCrisis #ClimateBreakdown #ClimateDisruption #globalWarming #globalHeating #ExtremeWeather
RE: https://mastodon.social/@paulbeckwith/115550068008392630
#FYI #PaulBeckwith video lecture and literature review #Antarctic #IceShelf #IceMelt #feedback #WaterStratification
15:31 "volume equivalent to 58 m of global sea level rise just in Antarctic ice sheet alone."
16:56 "we're always underestimating the speed at which things are happening"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkdXL_VUVCo
#climatechange #ClimateEmergency #ClimateBreakdown #ClimateDisruption #globalWarming #globalHeating #ExtremeWeather
Tides Widen Ice Cracks
When icebergs calve off of Arctic and Antarctic coastlines, it affects glacial flows upstream as well as local mixing between fresh- and seawater. A recent study points to ocean tides as a major factor in widening the ice cracks that lead to calving. The team built a simplified mathematical model of an ice shelf, taking into account the ice’s viscoelasticity, local tides, and winds. Then they compared the model’s predictions with satellite, GPS, and radar data of Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf, where an iceberg the size of Greater London broke off in 2023.
Between their model and the observation data, the team was able to show that the crack that preceded calving consistently grew during the spring tides, when tidal forces were at their strongest. The work gives us one more clue for refining our predictions of when major calving events are likely. (Image and research credit: O. Marsh et al.; via Gizmodo)
#calving #fluidDynamics #iceShelf #iceberg #oceanTides #physics #science #viscoelasticity
Just published:
Zeising, O., Hattermann, T., Kaleschke, L., Berger, S., Boebel, O., Drews, R., Ershadi, M. R., Fromm, T., Pattyn, F., Steinhage, D., and Eisen, O.: Enhanced basal melting in winter and spring: seasonal ice–ocean interactions at the Ekström Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, The Cryosphere, 19, 2837–2854, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2837-2025, 2025.
Ponding on the Ice Shelf
Glaciers flow together and march out to sea along the Amery Ice Shelf in this satellite image of Antarctica. Three glaciers — flowing from the top, left, and bottom of the image — meet just to the right of center and pass from the continental bedrock onto the ice-covered ocean. The ice shelf is recognizable by its plethora of meltwater ponds, which appear as bright blue areas. Each austral summer, meltwater gathers in low-lying regions on the ice, potentially destabilizing the ice shelf through fracture and drainage. This region near the ice shelf’s grounding line is particularly prone to ponding. Regions further afield (right, beyond the image) are colder and drier, often allowing meltwater to refreeze. (Image credit: W. Liang; via NASA Earth Observatory)
#fluidDynamics #geophysics #glacier #iceShelf #melting #physics #planetaryScience #satelliteImage #science
"An international team on board Schmidt Ocean Institute's R/V Falkor (too) working in the Bellingshausen Sea rapidly pivoted their research plans to study an area that was, until last month, covered by ice. On January 13, 2025, an iceberg the size of Chicago, named A-84, broke away from the George VI Ice Shelf, one of the massive floating glaciers attached to the Antarctic Peninsula ice sheet".
#Antarctic #iceshelf #glaciers
https://phys.org/news/2025-03-antarctic-ecosystems-detached-iceberg.html
Researchers were working off the coast of #Antarctica when it happened: A gigantic #iceberg about 19 miles long cracked off the #IceShelf on Jan 13, revealing a swath of #ocean that had not seen daylight in decades.
The team aboard a #research vessel called the Falkor (too) decided to search the seafloor under the freshly exposed ocean. No human had ever explored the deep sea there before.
#science #discovery #climate #ClimateChange
In Good News / Bad News ?
A huge #iceberg broke off #Antarctica. What scientists found under it startled them.
Crustaceans, snails, worms & fish are among the dozens of creatures that deep-sea explorers discovered under a massive Antarctic #IceShelf.
#science #discovery #research #climate #ClimateChange
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/03/20/huge-iceberg-broke-off-antarctica-what-scientists-found-under-it-startled-them/
"An international team of Earth and environmental scientists has found evidence that the Ronne Ice Shelf in the West Antarctic did not melt during the last interglacial event, suggesting it could survive modern climate change".
#Antarctic #iceshelf #climatechange
https://phys.org/news/2025-01-ice-core-samples-west-antarctic.html
#Thwaites Eastern #IceShelf nearing collapse as cracks spread, not because of melting
These findings and further computer modeling suggest that, while warm #ocean waters are preconditioning ice loss in West #Antarctica, the ongoing internal destabilisation now poses the greatest threat to the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf. The ice shelf is in its final phase of disintegration as these cracks grow, independent of melting from below.
https://thwaitesglacier.org/news/thwaites-eastern-ice-shelf-cracks-spread-not-because-melting #climatechange #climtecrisis
'Warm water' from #deepsea flowing towards one of #Antarctica's largest #iceshelves
Antarctica's Filchner-Ronne #IceShelf may be under threat due to relatively warm water from the deep sea flowing towards the shelf.
The melting of a massive ice shelf like FRIS would ultimately lead to huge #sealevelrise. However, researchers still have a lot to learn about this region, and it's unclear whether the increased flow of warm water is linked to #climatechange.
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/antarctica/warm-water-from-deep-sea-flowing-towards-one-of-antarcticas-largest-ice-shelves
#KnowledgeBit: The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest #IceShelf of Antarctica (as of 2013, an area of roughly 500,809 square km, about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. Ninety percent of the floating ice, however, is below the water surface.
The ice shelf is named after Sir James Clark Ross, who discovered it on 28 January 1841.
Current antarctic sea ice concentration & extent
#Antarctica #Antarctic #AntarcticSea #Climate #ClimateChange #Earth #ice #iceshelf #nsidc #research #SeaIce #snow #southpole
Current antarctic sea ice concentration & extent
#Antarctica #Antarctic #AntarcticSea #Climate #ClimateChange #Earth #ice #iceshelf #nsidc #research #SeaIce #snow #southpole
Current arctic sea ice concentration & extent
#Alaska #Arctic #Climate #ClimateChange #Earth #ice #iceshelf #nsidc #research #Russia #SeaIce #snow
Current antarctic sea ice concentration & extent
#Antarctica #Antarctic #AntarcticSea #Climate #ClimateChange #Earth #ice #iceshelf #nsidc #research #SeaIce #snow #southpole
More than a tenth of Antarctica’s ice projects out over the sea; this ice shelf preserves glacial ice that would otherwise fall into the Southern Ocean and raise global sea levels. But austral summers eat away at the ice, leaving meltwater collected in ponds (visible above in bright blue) and in harder-to-spot slush. Researchers taught a machine-learning algorithm to identify slush and ponds in satellite images, then used the algorithm to analyze nine years’ worth of imagery.
The group found that slush makes up about 57% of the overall meltwater. It is also darker than pure snow, absorbing more sunlight and leading to more melting. Many climate models currently neglect slush, and the authors warn that, without it, models will underestimate how much the ice is melting and predict that the ice is more stable than it truly is. (Image credit: Copernicus Sentinel/R. Dell; research credit: R. Dell et al.; via Physics Today)
https://fyfluiddynamics.com/2024/10/slushy-snow-affects-antarctic-ice-melt/
#antarctica #climateChange #fluidDynamics #geophysics #glacier #ice #iceShelf #machineLearning #melting #physics #planetaryScience #satelliteImage #science
Current arctic sea ice concentration & extent
#Alaska #Arctic #Climate #ClimateChange #Earth #ice #iceshelf #nsidc #research #Russia #SeaIce #snow
