Scientists need to consider Variables of all sortsIt is difficult to predict Antarctica’s loss of ice as the world warms.
Researchers now need to consider the immense river below the ice that runs approximately 460km (286 mi) long. This is a distance that is more than the length of the Thames River that runs through London, UK.
Experts believe that the new waterway and its offshoots could have a significant impact on how the glacial melts and flows.
The combination of water flow modeling and airborne radar surveys was used by the researchers to discover the secrets. The large area being examined includes both east and west Antarctic ice sheets. Water runs off into the Weddell Sea.
“The study area contains enough ice to raise global sea level by 4.3 meters. [14 feet],” says glaciologist Martin SiegertFrom Imperial College London, UK.
How slippery the base of the Ice is will determine how much of it melts and how fast. This process could be greatly influenced by the recently discovered river system.
Water flows underneath ice sheets, a fact that scientists have known for a long time. This is done in two ways. One, friction and geothermal heat can melt ice from below the glacier. Two, deep crevasses called murins can channel meltwater down to the base of the glacier. This happens more often in the Arctic. GreenlandWhere there is more seasonal variation in the ice thickness
New research shows that Antarctica is experiencing enough melting at the base of its ice sheets to allow for the formation of rivers. These channels of fresh, high-pressure water can help accelerate the melting process of ice by making the glacier base less stable, right at the sea.
We are improving our ability to measure how much ice melts at the North and South Poles. However, we don’t know enough about the mechanisms that cause this melting. These discoveries give us a better understanding about the underlying processes. This allows us to generate more accurate models for future ice loss.
“Previous studies looked at the interaction of the edges and ocean water in order to determine how melting looks like.” says glaciologist Neil RossFrom the University of Newcastle, UK.
“However, the discovery a river running hundreds of kilometers inland, driving some of the processes, shows that we don’t understand the icemelt completely without considering the whole system: ocean, ice sheets, and freshwater.
According to the researchers, melting rates in Antarctica could be a problem. Continue to rise, and summers are warm enough to create surface melt and moulins, this might have a significant impact on the hidden rivers that already exist – potentially making the ice sheet here more seasonal, as is the case with Greenland.
These feedback loops can result in additional melting that causes even greater ice loss. Deep water flows can cause ice to melt faster than if it is on dry ground, creating more friction and more melting.
The team now wants to apply the techniques here to other areas of the continent in order to discover what else scientists may not know. There are knock-on effects possible about 100 km (62 miles) each side of the main rivers that flow under the ice.
“When we first discovered the Antarctic ice lakes, a few decades ago we believed they were isolated from one another.” says Siegert.
“Now, we are beginning to see that there are whole systems down below, interconnected through vast river networks. They might even be as if they weren’t covered with thousands of meters of glacier.”
The research has been published in Nature Geoscience.
