Warmer waters are flowing towards the East Antarctic ice sheet, according to alarming new research which reveals a potential new driver of global sea-level rise.
The research shows changing water circulation in the Southern Ocean may be compromising the stability of the East Antarctic ice sheet. The sheet, roughly the size of the United States, is the largest in the world.
The changes in water circulation are caused by shifts in wind patterns and linked to climate change. Up until now, little was known about the Antarctic ice sheet.
If the sheet melted fully, global sea levels would rise by 5.1 meters. Much of the basin is below sea level, making it especially sensitive to ocean melting.
To understand how this warming is linked to climate change, the answer relates to a belt of strong westerly winds over the Southern Ocean.
These effects have been partly attributed to increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Because of this, westerly winds are moving closer to Antarctica in the summer, bringing warm water with them.
Previous research on the effect of climate change in the East Antarctic has assumed that warming first occurs in the ocean’s surface layers. The new findings suggest that deeper water is warming first.
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-world-biggest-ice-sheet-antarctica.html