Processes driving Antarctic ice loss become clearer
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028476
New Scientist : Earlier this year two studies revealed that glaciers on Antarctic ice shelves were melting faster than expected. Now Sunke Schmidtko of the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, and his colleagues have determined some of the processes driving that melting. They examined salinity and temperature data from multiple areas dating back to 1975. The data reveal that warmer, saltier water from the deeper ocean is being driven under the ice shelves. The water appears to be pushed by shifting winds, some of which are influenced by global warming. That effect has not been included in climate models. How it might change those models is still unclear.
