Utah People's Post

The Latest News from the Beehive State

Monday, April 12, 2021
Log in
  • National News
    • Female Caseworker Killed & Doctor Shot in Philadelphia
  • State News
    • Car Chase Leads to Drug Arrest
  • Tech & Science
  • Health
    • How to Prepare For Ticks Season
    • Magical Weight Loss Bean Scam
  • Sports
  • Business
You are here: Home / Science / Antarctic Lake Buried in Ice Could Lead to Ice Shelf Collapse

Antarctic Lake Buried in Ice Could Lead to Ice Shelf Collapse

December 14, 2016 Posted by Gabrielle Stewart

Antarctic lake iceberg

An Antarctic lake suggests the melting of the region has begun.

The Arctic, as well as West Antarctica, have seen many changes in the last years due to climate change. Until now, scientists believed that the remote location of East Antarctica and its low temperatures would keep the region mostly unchanged in the face of global warming. A newly Antarctic lake shows that the impact of climate has only been delayed not avoided.

For their study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers analyzed the Roi Baudouin ice shelf located in East Antarctica, which mostly floats in the ocean.  During their research, which involved satellite measurements, models as well as field surveys, they discovered a massive lake underneath the ice shelf mostly made of freshwater.

The existence of an Antarctic lake buried beneath the ice shelf means that the melting has already started. To confirm their discovery, the research started to drill through the ice and found several englacial lakes between the surface and the base of the ice shelf which comes in contact with the ocean. During their drilling, they discovered 55 lakes, out of which many were buried in ice.

Their findings reveal another major problem caused by climate change as the rising temperatures lead to the melting of the ice shelves, while warmer waters eat away at the ice from beneath the glaciers. The water resulted from melting seeps through the surface fractures and fill empty subsurface chambers with water.

After large quantities of water have accumulated in these chambers, the pressure it exerts on the shelf could become strong enough to force it apart. A broken-off glacier would then float in the ocean where they can melt much faster. Scientists call the phenomenon hydrofracturing.

Jan Lenaerts, one of the study’s researchers and a glaciologist from the Utrecht University in Netherlands, has stated that the production of meltwater will only increase with the temperatures and overall enhance the hydrofracturing process. This could very well endanger the overall integrity of East Antarctica ice shelves and eventually lead to massive increase in sea levels. The entire Antarctica is estimated to hold enough water to raise sea levels by 200 feet if all the ice melted.

What do you think about the discovery of the Antarctic lake?

Image source: Pixabay

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Filed Under: Science

mm

About Gabrielle Stewart

Gabrielle Stewart graduated from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Graduate Studies with a Masters of Arts in Communication Sciences. She’s an avid reader and a lifelong learner. She likes to cover a wide range of news, but she’s particularly keen on Science.

Woman working out at the gym

Just 23% of Americans Are Working Out Enough in Their Spare Time

June 29, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Poliovirus Therapy Gives Brain Cancer Patients New Hope (Study)

June 29, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

United Airlines airplane

Passenger Mysteriously Dies on United Airlines flight Bound for Boston

June 28, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Breakfast sandwich

Here Are Some Foods No Nutritionist Would Ever Eat

June 27, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Poppy flower

UN Warns of Surge in Opium-based Drugs and Cocaine Supply

June 27, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

U.S.-Canada border

French Jogger Detained 2 Weeks for Accidentally Crossing Border

June 26, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Plus size model

Normalizing Plus Size Could Fuel Obesity Crisis (Study)

June 25, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Giant manta ray

Unique Manta Ray Nursery Spotted off Texas Coast

June 23, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

The rainbow flag

WHO Scraps Transgenderism from List of Mental Illnesses

June 22, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

456 People Dead at U.K. Hospital after Taking too Many Painkillers

June 21, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Kenyan girls dancing

Kenyans Facing Poor Nutrition as Supermarket Shopping Is on the Rise

June 20, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Staff
  • Terms and Conditions

Recent Posts

  • Just 23% of Americans Are Working Out Enough in Their Spare Time
  • Poliovirus Therapy Gives Brain Cancer Patients New Hope (Study)
  • Passenger Mysteriously Dies on United Airlines flight Bound for Boston
  • Here Are Some Foods No Nutritionist Would Ever Eat
  • UN Warns of Surge in Opium-based Drugs and Cocaine Supply
  • French Jogger Detained 2 Weeks for Accidentally Crossing Border
  • Normalizing Plus Size Could Fuel Obesity Crisis (Study)

Related Articles

  • Giant manta ray

    Unique Manta Ray Nursery Spotted off Texas Coast

    Jun 23, 2018
  • Humans Account for Just 0.01% of Life, but Wiped Out 85% of Wild Mammals

    May 23, 2018
  • Volkswagen beetle driver

    Women Don’t View Flashy Men As Husband Material (Study)

    May 8, 2018
  • The Moon above forest

    Nokia, Others Plan to Plant 4G Network on the Moon

    Mar 1, 2018
  • Two spiral galaxies

    Monster Black Holes Outgrowing their Galaxies

    Feb 16, 2018
  • Iceberg in the Antarctic

    Researchers to Investigate Antarctic’s Newly Discovered Ecosystem

    Feb 12, 2018
  • Naked mole rat

    These Furless Mole Rats Don’t Seem to Age at All (Study)

    Jan 31, 2018
  • China's first space station Tiangong-1

    Chinese Confident They Can Take Rogue Space Lab Down with Lasers

    Jan 19, 2018
  • Modern glass building

    Energy-Producing ‘Smart Windows’ May Be the Future

    Nov 26, 2017
  • Earthquake aftermath

    Scientists:As Earth is Slowing Down, More Earthquakes are Looming

    Nov 20, 2017

Categories

  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • National News
  • Nature
  • Provo
  • Salt Lake News
  • Science
  • Sports
  • State News
  • Tech & Science
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • West Jordan
  • West Valley City
  • World

Copyright © 2021 utahpeoplespost.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Site Map · Contact

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.