Scientists have explored the recesses of an Antarctic glacier that is currently stable, helping improve predictions of the continent’s fate.
Understanding what is happening at Kamb will help scientists predict how large parts of the Antarctic coastline that are not currently vulnerable might respond as the world continues to warm due to human-caused climate change. Here’s what’s different about Kamb.In December 2019, two teams of researchers from New Zealand and the United States visited the Kamb Ice Stream — a type of glacier that consists of a channel of faster-moving ice surrounded by slower ice.
The new finding at Kamb makes sense, says New Zealand team member Christina Hulbe, of the University of Otago, because the seabed at Kamb is relatively shallow. So it is not exposed to the deep, warm ocean currents that are hitting Thwaites. The globes were greenish — a hue often seen in winter ice that forms on the surface of the ocean. This color makes Lawrence and his colleagues think that the globes form from the ultracold mixture of seawater and meltwater that circulates up into a crack and refreezes, gradually filling in the crack, from the top down, over many decades. They think that this is happening in all of the crevasses they observed. “These crevasses are effectively healing themselves,” he says.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Antarctic Sea Ice Is The Lowest It's Been in 45 Years of Records, Researchers ReportAntarctic sea ice likely shrunk to a record low last week, US researchers said Monday, its lowest extent in the 45 years of satellite record-keeping. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder said that Antarctica's...
Read more »
Rare Photos From Early Antarctic Expeditions Digitized for First TimeA huge collection of photographs that show expeditions to Antarctica in the early 20th century have been digitized for the first time.
Read more »
Group of 60 Scientists Urge Research Into Geoengineering the Earth to Fight Climate ChangeSolar geoengineering might be the quickest may to reduce warming, but these scientists call for more research before it can be championed or ruled out.
Read more »
Scientists Have Made Cocaine From a Tobacco PlantCocaine is perhaps most notoriously known as a dangerous drug. But it’s also used legally as a local anesthetic for surgeries. Scientists in China have now genetically engineered a tobacco plant to produce cocaine in its leaves.
Read more »
U.K. scientists hope to regain access to EU grants after Northern Ireland dealResearchers in the United Kingdom breathed a cautious sigh of relief yesterday after the government struck a deal with the European Union to fix post-Brexit disputes over issues including trade across Northern Ireland’s border.
Read more »