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Antarctica’s Ocean Flip: Satellites Catch Sudden Salt Surge Melting Ice From Below
Researchers say six datasets show Antarctic sea ice loss since 2016 is making a deep Southern Ocean layer saltier and altering heat and carbon transport.
- On Wednesday, researchers documented a sharp salinity increase in a vast layer of the Southern Ocean, extending from 2,300 to 4,000 feet deep and encircling Antarctica. The study analyzed data from 4,000 robotic floats sampling the upper ocean.
- A rapid decline of Antarctic sea ice since 2016 triggered this salinity reversal, which echoes ocean changes usually associated with millennia-long climate shifts. Reduced freshwater from melting sea ice is the primary driver of this alteration.
- University of Melbourne Associate Professor Bishakhdatta Gayen noted the salinity increase of about 0.0048 grams per kilogram per decade is unprecedented. "That transition took thousands of years, not two decades," Gayen said.
- The Southern Ocean plays a "massive role" in drawing down human carbon dioxide emissions, oceanographer Michael Meredith said. Disruptions to this layer could affect how the ocean stores and redistributes heat globally.
- Within five years, researchers warn, impacts are potentially "knocking on your door." Monash University Antarctic researcher Ariaan Purich said "continued ocean observations combined with modelling are needed" to adapt to global consequences.
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Antarctica’s ocean flip: Satellites catch sudden salt surge melting ice from below
A massive and surprising change is unfolding around Antarctica. Scientists have discovered that the Southern Ocean is getting saltier, and sea ice is melting at record speed, enough to match the size of Greenland. This change has reversed a decades-long trend and is letting hidden heat rise to the surface, melting the ice from below. One of the most dramatic signs is the return of a giant hole in the ice that hadn’t been seen in 50 years. The co…
·Encinitas, United States
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Total News Sources13
Leaning Left4Leaning Right1Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left
50% Left
L 50%
C 38%
12%
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