Antarctic Peninsula Glaciers Flow Up to One-Fifth Faster in Summer

Nature Geoscience, 27 February 2023

Researchers have known for decades that ice loss from Greenland increases during the spring and summer, but this study reveals for the first time that Antarctic glaciers are similarly vulnerable to warm seasons. Glaciers on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula speed up the most, flowing one-fifth faster in summer than winter. On average, glaciers on the Peninsula as a whole speed up by one-tenth during summer months. This new discovery suggests that the Antarctica Peninsula quickly reacts to rising temperatures in its local environment. More than one hundred glaciers along the west coast of the Peninsula drain ice directly into the Southern Ocean. During summer months, warmer temperatures increase snowmelt and send a stream of meltwater between the ice sheet and the underlying bedrock, lubricating its slide towards the ocean. Warm ocean waters simultaneously erode the front of the moving ice, preventing it from restraining the massive ice sheet behind it. The Greenland-like response of the Antarctic Peninsula to summer air and ocean temperatures underscores the importance of reducing emissions to curb future sea-level rise from this “sleeping giant” of the Southern Hemisphere.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01131-4