Accelerating Antarctic glacier melt may be driven by deep-ocean processes

Washington Post : Not only has the great ice sheet of West Antarctica begun to thaw, but one in East Antarctica may now be collapsing as well. The accelerated melting of the two ice sheets could cause global sea levels to rise by as much as 6 meters. To better understand the geography of the Totten Glacier of East Antarctica and the vast catchment of ice it contains, researchers from the US, the UK, France, and Australia compiled data gathered during research flights through the use of gravimetry, radar sounding, and laser altimetry. They discovered that the ice shelves extending out into the water may be becoming increasingly unstable because deep valleys on the seafloor could be collecting vast quantities of saltwater that is warmer and denser than the ice melt above it. To confirm their hypothesis, the researchers would like to launch robotic underwater vehicles that could directly measure the water’s temperature, salinity, and other properties.