Scientists have found that a portion of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, the world’s largest ice shelf and an important contributor to future global sea level rise, is melting 10 times faster than the rest of the shelf, according to a new studypublished in the journal Nature Geoscience.
The melting, the scientists say, is being driven by warm, ice-free ocean surface waters heated by the sun. As E&E News reports, while the process sounds simple, it is one that hasn’t been well-documented or studied until now. Most research has focused instead on the influence of deep-sea currents on Antarctic melting, rather than surface water.
Image: https://scienceblog.com
