An international team of scientists found that adjacent ice shelves play a role in causing instability in others downstream.
An international team of scientists found that adjacent ice shelves play a role in causing instability in others downstream.
The study, led by the University of East Anglia in the UK, also identified that a small ocean gyre - a system of circulating ocean currents - next to the Thwaites Ice Shelf can impact the amount of glacial-meltwater flowing beneath it. When that gyre is weaker, more warm water can access the areas beneath the ice shelf, causing it to melt.
The Thwaites Ice Shelf is one of the biggest ice shelves in West Antarctica and buttresses the eastern side of the Thwaites Glacier, which has been retreating rapidly over the last 20 years and is the largest contributor to global sea-level rise among Antarctic glaciers.
Read more at: University of East Anglia
The Thwaites Ice Shelf in Antarctica (Photo Credit: Karen Alley)
