Anna Hartz
The icy continent of Antarctica seems remote, but what happens there can affect everyone on the planet.
Melting glaciers can raise sea levels, threaten coastal cities, and disrupt weather patterns worldwide. Scientists are racing to understand what is happening beneath the thick ice sheets that cover much of the region.
Exploring Underneath Antarctica
A team led by Anna Wahlin, a professor of oceanographic physics at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, made a remarkable discovery. They used a small autonomous ocean robot to explore beneath East Antarctica’s massive ice shelves. The robot spent eight months drifting under the ice, collecting data with its sensors, writes Ziare.
Over two and a half years, the robot traveled more than 300 kilometers beneath the Denman and Shackleton Ice Sheets. It collected nearly 200 detailed temperature and salinity profiles. The goal was to understand how vulnerable these ice giants are to climate change.
The robot surfaced briefly every five days to transmit its readings. When scientists analyzed the data, they found a worrying pattern. The Shackleton Ice Shelf seems largely protected from warm water that could melt it from below. The Denman Glacier, however, tells a different story.
Warm Water Detected
The robot detected relatively warm water flowing beneath the Denman Glacier. Even a small increase in the thickness of this warm layer could accelerate melting. If that happens, the glacier could retreat quickly. Denman Glacier alone could raise global sea levels by up to 1.5 meters. Millions of people in coastal areas worldwide would face flooding, damaged infrastructure, and other serious risks.
Researchers called the mission extraordinary. It proves that even simple, durable instruments can provide discoveries that reshape our understanding of Antarctica. The collected data will now be used in advanced climate and ocean models. These models will help scientists predict sea level rise more accurately.
Warm, salty currents from the Southern Ocean flow around Antarctica, melting ice shelves from below. Maps show that this warm water erodes glaciers unevenly. The western sides face more melting, while the eastern sides are somewhat protected.
Melting glaciers have consequences for everyone. Rising seas can cause floods, storms, beach erosion, habitat loss, and public health challenges. Simple actions at home, like reducing energy use and choosing sustainable habits, can help slow these changes. The discoveries from Antarctica are a stark reminder that climate change is not a distant problem—it is a global challenge that affects all of us
