Warming Circumpolar Ocean Currents Thin East Antarctic Ice Shelves

Nature Climate Change, 2 August 2022

Mid-depth water temperatures around East Antarctica have risen by nearly 2°C over the past century, with the strongest warming occurring near glaciers whose ice shelves are retreating most rapidly. Rising temperatures shift westerly winds closer to the poles and strengthen the flow of warm water underneath floating ice shelves. Together, these factors have accelerated ice loss in vulnerable regions of East Antarctica, including the iconic Denman, Vanderford and Totten glaciers. Accelerated ice loss can increase the amount of freshwater along the coastline and intensify melt by hindering the formation of cold dense seawater, which usually shields floating ice shelves. Rising ocean temperatures pose an increasing threat to the stability of the East Antarctic ice sheet; the rate of ocean warming around East Antarctica has tripled within the past three decades. The increasing shift in polar wind patterns and ocean temperatures is predicted to persist throughout this century and may further intensify warming around East Antarctica, jeopardizing the massive ice sheet’s future stability.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01424-3