Photo caption: Traversing the Ross Ice Shelf. Photo: Neil Silverwood聽
Led by Dr Daniel Price of Te Whare W膩nanga o Waitaha | 茄子视频app官网 (UC鈥檚) School of Earth and Environment, the research team spent five summer seasons between 2015 and 2020 collecting detailed radar measurements across 1,000 km of the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest ice shelf in Antarctica.
The research aimed to measure changes in ice thickness and basal melt鈥攎elting that occurs at the base of a glacier or ice shelf鈥攖o establish a precise baseline to support future climate predictions.聽
鈥淯sing ground-based radar, we can measure really small changes in ice thickness over time. It tells us where melting is happening at the base of the ice shelf, providing valuable insight to help refine future climate and sea-level rise predictions,鈥 Dr Price says.聽
The new research shows that melt rates vary across the ice shelf which could be vulnerable to a warming Southern Ocean.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time we鈥檝e really got a good sense of just how far warm water is penetrating,鈥 Dr Price explains. 鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about 150 to 170 kilometres under the front of the ice shelf in some cases.鈥
By providing a baseline, the research can help inform ocean and ice sheet models used to predict future change, and in turn sea-level rise, and supports international efforts to understand climate-related changes in polar regions, contributing to a broader international effort to better understand a complex system.聽
鈥淵ou have to think about these measurements as a piece of the puzzle,鈥 he says. 鈥淎ll of our work contributes to building a better understanding of a very complicated system that is changing.
鈥淔or the Ross Ice Shelf, at the moment things are stable, but as we heat the planet things can change quickly.鈥
The project was carried out with the support of Antarctica New Zealand, whose logistical support was essential.
鈥淲ithout that traverse capability provided by Antarctica New Zealand, we wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do this,鈥 Dr Price says. 鈥淭hey do a huge amount of work to facilitate this kind of science.鈥
He adds that understanding Antarctic ice shelf dynamics is not just a scientific goal 鈥 it has global significance.
鈥淭he climate crisis is a threat to civilisation. We have built a global society with static infrastructure that assumes no change, but we are now interfering with that system. Sea levels are rising, and we need to improve forecasts so we can effectively plan,鈥 he says.聽
鈥淭here鈥檚 still a lot of uncertainty around how Antarctica will respond to climate change, and what happens there will have large ramifications not just for New Zealand, but for the rest of the planet."
The research strengthens New Zealand鈥檚 contribution to Antarctic science and offers a new dataset to inform sea-level rise models and long-term global climate planning.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 - Climate Action.
