Recent focus has been on Antarctica’s surface melting–processes that could potentially trigger or accelerate ice-sheet mass loss. An additional process could have a similarly significant effect: thawing of the bed (basal thaw) at the interface of the land and the miles-thick ice sheet above it. Researchers modeled temperature changes at Antarctica’s base according to shifts in friction caused by the ice sheet sliding over the land below. Areas in East Antarctica not currently losing large amounts of mass could be poised to match some of the largest potential contributors to sea-level rise (i.e Thwaites Glacier) if they thaw. East Antarctica is currently considered a relatively stable region compared to West Antarctica, but it has an area, comparable in size to the rapidly evolving and likely unstable West Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, that’s capable of becoming a leading sea-level contributor. Basal thaw there could occur over short time scales, its onset leading to significant ice loss within a 100-year period,and becoming a leading sea-level contributor.
Story Source: Stanford University
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220914102223.htm