Researchers guided an autonomous underwater submarine to capture the first direct observations of a warm water current flowing in below the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
Antarctica
A Close Look at Melting Below Antarctica’s Largest Ice Shelf
Radar data reveal where, when, and how fast the base of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf has been losing mass in recent years.
Seafloor Reveals a Period of Rapid Retreat for Thwaites Glacier
New high-resolution seafloor imagery shows a series of delicate ridges produced by the glacier’s front as it bobbed daily with the tides, revealing a recent period of rapid retreat.New high-resolution seafloor imagery shows a series of delicate ridges produced by the glacier’s front as it bobbed daily with the tides, revealing a recent period of rapid retreat.
Melting Below the Pine Island Ice Shelf Minds the Gap
New research shows that increased calving from West Antarctica’s Pine Island Ice Shelf will likely drive increased circulation of warm water—and melting—below the ice.
A Spike in Wildfires Contributed to the End-Permian Extinction
An upward trend in fossilized charcoal indicates that wildfires may have contributed to extinctions during the Great Dying.
Seashells and Penguin Bones Reveal Thwaites Glacier’s Quiet Past
Antarctica’s Thwaites and Pine Island Glaciers are melting faster than they have in the past 5,500 years, new evidence shows. Against expectations, their pasts have been remarkably stable.
Allen Foster: Greasing Telescope Gears During a 7-Month-Long Night
While overwintering in Antarctica, Foster maintains the South Pole Telescope facilities.
Unlocking the Magmatic Secrets of Antarctica’s Mount Erebus
Unprecedented images of Mount Erebus’s inner workings show the unique trappings of a CO2-rich rift volcano.
Circling Antarctica to Unveil the Bed Below Its Icy Edge
An international initiative aims to collect a comprehensive airborne data set from the Antarctic Ice Sheet margin to better estimate ice discharge and sea level contributions today and in the future.
Massive Groundwater Systems Lie Beneath Antarctic Ice
Scientists are updating ice stream models to understand the ways in which deep groundwater systems impact ice flow.