A new study highlights the connected nature of the Southern Ocean dynamic system, the research priorities needed to understand its influence on climate change, the importance of cross-disciplinary collaborations.
glaciers & ice sheets
Sediment Dampens the Impact of Glaciation on Cenozoic Denudation
Rates of continental-scale sediment flux and denudation are similar between glacial and interglacial periods when the aggradation of glacier-eroded sediment inhibits fluvial erosion downstream.
Radar Data Show Thwaites Gets a Daily Bath of Warm Seawater
The Doomsday Glacier, predicted to raise global sea level by more than half a meter, could be exposed to more warm ocean water than previously thought.
Antarctic Ice Doughnuts May Hold the Key to Shelf Collapse
The first direct record of ring fractures in Antarctic ice shows how the phenomenon could cause rapid ice shelf collapse.
Seals Help Scientists Make Discoveries in Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea
By analyzing hydrographic information gathered by seals and an undersea glider, researchers found new meltwater currents, as well as a new seafloor trough.
Rain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes
Rain used to be rare in the Arctic, but as the region warms, so-called rain-on-snow events are becoming more common. The rains accelerate ice loss, trigger flooding, landslides, and avalanches, and create problems for wildlife and the Indigenous people who depend on them.
Beneath the Ice: Greenland’s Geology Revealed in New Map
Advances in remote sensing offered an opportunity to redraw Greenland’s geologic map for the first time in 15 years.
Drilling into Antarctica’s Past
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet melted rapidly around 8,000 years ago. Could that event foretell the future?
Speed of Ice Shelf Rifting Controlled by Ocean-Ice Interactions
Scientists report the fastest rate of rift extension yet observed for an Antarctic floating ice shelf and explain why it is far slower than rates expected for brittle ice deformation.