Nature Geoscience, 18 November 2025
Small underwater eddies contribute to nearly a fifth of total Antarctic ice shelf melting each season, but during extreme events this submarine melting can increase by as much as three-fold within hours as warm water penetrates beneath the ice. Similar to hurricanes and other large storms generated in the open ocean, these swirling eddies grow larger as they approach ice shelves and can cause substantial damage. A high-resolution ocean model in the Amundsen Sea Embayment finds that these small-scale ocean circulation patterns are intensified by ice shelf melting, creating positive feedbacks that increase ocean turbulence and ice shelf loss. The study highlights the importance of including these short-term, “weather-like” ocean processes in climate models and developing more observational tools to better anticipate future ice shelf stability.
纸 | 自然研究简报 | News Coverage by the University of California, Irvine
作者：科学写作实习生 海莉·兰德里根, 全球外展主任 艾, 以及 ICCI 主任 帕姆·皮尔森.
Published 12 月. 12, 2025 Updated 12 月. 12, 2025 7:51 下午