Scientists make alarming discovery about mysterious ice shelf collapse: 'No one had observed the process … until now'

While the study's findings are exciting for scientists looking to model glacial collapse more accurately, its underlying message also serves as a warning.

A new polar ice study from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder surfaced groundbreaking evidence of, well … the ground breaking.

What's happening?

In the study, CIRES researchers sought to solve a decades-old mystery of the collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in Antarctica, which had disintegrated suddenly without a completely clear cause in 2002 (though others have also put forward explanations).

To do the study, the team set up high-tech time-lapse captures on another similar ice shelf, the George VI, also along the Antarctic peninsula. The time lapses utilized GPS mapping to measure the melting, and what they found was alarming: The ice in the center of a glacial lake sank 30 centimeters in a matter of months under the weight of the melted water, as the website Polar Journal reported.

As the outlet noted, "Their study shows for the first time through observation that ice shelves not only bend under the weight of meltwater lakes, but also fracture."

The study itself was published by Cambridge University Press in its Journal of Glaciology.

Why is glacial collapse so concerning?

While the study's findings are exciting for scientists looking to model glacial collapse more accurately, its underlying message also serves as a warning.

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"As [planetary] warming continues and melt rates increase, the accumulation of meltwater could cause vulnerable ice shelves to collapse relatively suddenly, making way for inland glaciers to flow into the ocean, which in turn contributes to sea level rise," the Polar Journal explained.

Indeed, the site wrote, several more ice shelves have been identified as particularly high-risk for collapse, particularly the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica and the Brunt Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea.

In a press release, scientist Alison Banwell explained that "ice shelves are extremely important for the Antarctic Ice Sheet's overall health as they act to buttress or hold back the glacier ice on land. Scientists have predicted and modeled that surface meltwater loading could cause ice shelves to fracture, but no one had observed the process in the field, until now."

Collapsing ice shelves and rising sea levels endanger coastal communities, threatening homes and livelihoods.

What's being done to prevent future collapses?

In addition to improved modeling and monitoring, one Dutch company is even looking to add ice back to glaciers as a temporary solution.

Ultimately, the brunt of slowing global heating and preventing the acceleration of melting should fall on governments and large corporations. But individuals looking to do their part can find a number of ways to get involved on climate issues, from voting for pro-climate candidates in upcoming election cycles, to growing their own food, switching to an electric vehicle, and more.

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Scientists make alarming discovery about mysterious ice shelf collapse: 'No one had observed the process … until now' first appeared on The Cool Down.