Warm water beneath grounded ice accelerates melting.
CorroboratedContext
An ice-sheet model incorporating seawater intrusion across Thwaites Glacier’s grounding zone projects up to 30 mm of sea-level rise by 2100, twice previous estimates, without additional warming. Warm water beneath grounded ice accelerates melting and retreat; simulations estimate a 60% probability of detachment from a stabilizing ridge by 2100.
Evidence
schmidt.astro.cornell.edu · supports
Beneath steeply sloping parts of the ice the water remained warm and the ice contained scallop features from strong melting.
www.sciencenews.org · supports
The researchers could detect this because the satellite radar showed the top surface of the ice rising and falling as the water moved beneath it. … “The glacier ice hates the salt” because it accelerates melting, Rignot says.
science.nasa.gov · supports
Most melting happens from below, when warm ocean currents undercut and thin the ice. Water also eliminates friction beneath the glacier, allowing ice to flow more quickly.
History
- · Unverified · initial
- · Corroborated · l3_supports