The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is the most vulnerable region of the continent, and has the potential to contribute several meters of sea level rise in coming centuries. When warm waters flow over the continental shelf, they can erode the ice from its base and produce instabilities in the ice sheet. Over time, these instabilities can lead to widespread melting and collapse of the WAIS, triggering rapid sea-level rise. This session highlights the potential impact of sea-level rise on Egypt, the host of COP27, under various emission scenarios to show the importance of limiting temperature rise. Presenters include Dr. Florence Colleoni, Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, co-chief officer of the new SCAR scientific research program INSTANT (Instabilities and Thresholds in Antarctica), and Pam Pearson, Director of ICCI.
Dear Friends of the Cryosphere Pavilion and Cryosphere Capsule Readers! We are happy to announce…
Nature Communications, 21 July 2026 Rising sea levels driven by ocean warming and ice sheet…
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 26 June 2026 East Antarctica has long been considered less…
Geophysical Research Letters, 9 July 2026 Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is the cold, dense water…
PNAS, 20 July 2026 After several years in the early 2020s when Arctic winter sea…
Nature Communications, 16 July 2026 Temporarily exceeding global warming targets increases the risk of long-lasting…