Climate change is at the center of a remarkable international drilling operation into Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf.
Ice shelves
Warm Water Is Rapidly Eroding Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf
The underside of the world’s largest ice shelf is melting—by meters per year in some places—because of the seasonal inflow of water heated by the Sun, observations of the White Continent reveal.
Ocean Tides Affect Ice Loss from Large Polar Ice Sheets
A recent paper in Reviews of Geophysics discusses how ocean tides affect the motion of, and loss of ice from, the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets.
Six Points of Perspective on Larsen C’s Huge New Iceberg
A Delaware-sized slab of ice just broke off Antarctica. Now what?
The Uncertain Future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
A recent paper in Reviews of Geophysics discusses how climate change could affect ice streams, ice sheets, ice shelves, and sea ice in Antarctica.
West Antarctic Ice Shelf Breaking Up from the Inside Out
Researchers trace the origin of a 2015 iceberg to a crack that formed deep beneath the ice.
Focusing the Human Lens on Glacial Outburst Floods
To better prepare mountain communities for possible floods, experts say that it is important to understand the communities themselves.
At the Intersection of Ice and Water
Scientists observe ice dynamics in water-terminating glaciers around the world to better understand how the process of subaqueous melt drives ice loss.
Tracking the Fate of Antarctica's Ice
New, more accurate satellite data provide researchers with ice shelf thickness measurements that will allow for better ice loss monitoring.
Priorities for Antarctic Research: Glaciers, Genomes, and Cosmic Waves
The next decade of research should focus on the need to understand the changing Antarctic environment and how organisms adapt to it, a high-level report says.