Antarctic ice shelves hold twice as much meltwater as previously thought. Slush–water-soaked snow–makes up over half of all meltwater on the Antarctic ice shelves during the height of summer. 57% of all meltwater is held in the form of slush-the remaining amount in surface ponds and lakes. With warming, more meltwater is formed on the ice shelves surface–the floating ice surrounding Antarctica which acts as a buttress against glacier ice from inland. Increased meltwater can lead to ice shelf instability or collapse, in turn leading to sea level rise. Researchers found that slush and pooled meltwater leads to 2.8 times more meltwater formation than predicted by standard climate models, since it absorbs more heat from the sun than ice or snow. This could have profound implications for ice shelf stability and sea level rise.
Climate Crisis Blog
