the use of a underwater robot under a rapidly melting Antarctic ice shelf, allowed scientists to discover more clues about this phenomenon. These possibilities will make it possible to assess the threat of melting of this and other blocks of ice.
According to the researchers’ analysis, the overall melting of the bottom of the Thwaites Shelf in West Antarctica was less than expected based on calculations derived from computer models. Also, it should be rapid melting occurred in unexpected places: a series of terraces and cracks that extended into the ice.
These results do not change the fact that Thwaites is one of the fastest receding ice blocks and one of the least stable. neither change the estimates that the collapse of the platform and the glacier of which it is a part would cause a rise of half meter over several centuries.
One of the scientists, the British Antarctic Survey oceanographer, Peter E.D. DavisHe said the research “tells us a lot more about the processes driving the Thwaites pushback.” The results, which were published in the journal Naturethey will be used to refine models that predict the long-term future of the ice shelf.
The investigation was promoted by the United States in conjunction with Great Britain, with the aim of effectively understanding what happens in the Thwaites Glacier.
Inhabiting Antarctica: the day the dance broke into the southernmost tip of the country
The ice shelf is the floating tongue of the Thwaites Glacier, a river of ice the size of the state of Florida (USA) that helps keep one of Antarctica’s two massive ice sheets at bay. Thwaites currently contributes 4% to the global rate of sea level rise, of about 2.5 centimeters per decade.
Discover a mysterious world of aquatic creatures under the ice in Antarctica
A group of New Zealand scientists discovered amazing specimens of aquatic creatures that live 500 meters below the Ross Ice Shelf. It would be a new ecosystem which includes animals similar in appearance to shrimp.
The “Glacier at the End of the World”, a threat to humanity, is close to collapse
The discovery was made by drilling the ice shelf to the river, according to the British outlet. Mirror. Research groups working for universities in Wellington, Auckland and Otago, the National Institute for Water and Atmosphere (Niwa) and the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences participated in the experience.
Through a camera it was possible to announce the presence of small swarming amphipodsorganisms belonging to the same family as lobsters and crabs.
“For a while, we thought something was wrong with the camera, but when the focus improved, we noticed a swarm of arthropods about 5 millimeters in size,” contributed Craig Stevens of Niwa.
“We did experiments in other parts of the ice shelf and we thought to use things under control, but this time there were big surprises,” the specialist requested.
A study that aimed to analyze the climate change I end up revealing hitherto unknown aspects of the Antarctic ecosystem.
“We jumped for joy, because having all those animals swimming around our team means that clearly there is an important ecosystem there“Excellent,” Stevens.
JP/fl
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