Giant Antarctic Icebergs Deliver Vast Amounts of Freshwater to the Southern Ocean

Science Advances, December 16

Large tabular icebergs (with areas ≥ 3 km²) are one of the greatest sources of melting from the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Until now, studies struggled to accurately model these large icebergs, consistently misrepresenting their survival time or drifting trajectory. By including a new breakup mechanism applied to large icebergs, this study was able to simulate their trajectories and evolution with results closely matching real-life observations. This will enable a better understanding of freshwater distribution around Antarctica, help model the circulation and stratification of the Southern Ocean, and improve our understanding of sea ice cover.  All of these dynamics also play a role in understanding how quickly this largest ice sheet (holding 60 meters total sea-level rise) might melt with continued warming; including thresholds of irreversibility and global rates of sea-level rise.

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/51/eabd1273/tab-pdf

Compiled by Amy Imdieke.