SYDNEY, July 1 (Xinhua) — An Australian study has found that the rapid loss of Antarctic sea ice is directly triggering the collapse of the continent’s ice shelves, establishing a clear link between shrinking sea ice and dramatic ice shelf fractures.
The study tracked sea ice, ocean swells, and ice shelf conditions for years preceding three major calving events, revealing prolonged sea ice loss 6-18 months beforehand and collapse of protective “landfast” ice weeks prior to break-off, according to a release from the University of Melbourne on Tuesday.
The research team, led by the Universities of Melbourne and Adelaide, developed mathematical models quantifying how Southern Ocean swells flex weakened ice shelves once sea ice diminishes, the release said.
“Sea ice is retreating at an unprecedented rate all around Antarctica and our work suggests this will put further pressure on already thinned and weakened ice shelves,” said University of Melbourne Professor Luke Bennetts.
The Antarctic Ice Sheet, with the potential to raise sea levels by over 50 meters, blankets the continent. Its floating ice shelves slow glacier flow, but rapid sea ice loss now threatens these vital barriers, accelerating the risk of global sea-level rise, according to the study published in Nature Geoscience.
With no regular monitoring of ocean waves in Antarctic sea ice and ice shelves, scientists use mathematical models to study how swells, sea ice loss, and ice shelf changes are linked, the study found. ■