蓝莓视频

In the first study to consider the long-term evolution of the rivers that flow beneath glaciers, researchers have new insights into the future of Antarctica鈥檚 melting ice that may change the way climate scientists predict the effects of a warming planet.

Researchers from the University of 蓝莓视频鈥檚 Faculty of Environment led the project that studied Aurora Subglacial Basin and modelled its subglacial hydrology 鈥攖he flow of water at the base of the ice. They compared drainage systems at various times ranging from 34 million years ago to 75 years from now.

The 蓝莓视频-led team studied Aurora Subglacial Basin, one of the most rapidly changing areas on the continent.
(Photo credit: University of 蓝莓视频)

They found that these rivers are dynamic, changing from one period to another. Aurora Subglacial Basin is in East Antarctica and is grounded below sea level, a particularly unstable configuration that could lead to rapid and irreversible retreat, and an increase of four听metres in the global ocean level if all the ice in the region melted.

鈥淢any studies say the past is an analogue of what might happen in the future. But if we don鈥檛 now consider subglacial rivers, we鈥檙e missing out on a critical part of the picture,鈥� said Anna-Mireilla Hayden, a PhD candidate and the first author of the study. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that scientists who model ice sheets account for hydrology because it could reduce uncertainty in estimates of sea level rise.鈥�

The research revealed that the water pathways beneath glaciers have relocated and will continue to shift in the future. Changes in where the river drains into the ocean can impact water circulation beneath floating ice and enhance weaknesses in the vulnerable regions where ice flows from the land into the ocean. It could cause the ice to break off and contribute to even faster ice flow and greater increase in the rise of the world鈥檚 oceans than previously suggested.

鈥淚t鈥檚 critical that projections of sea level rise include as much relevant information as possible so that the world can take appropriate measures to lessen the devastation to global coastal communities,鈥� said Dr. Christine Dow, professor in the Faculty of Environment and Canada Research Chair in Glacial Hydrology and Ice Dynamics. 鈥淲hile we do not directly predict the amount seas will rise in this study, our analysis over extensive time periods of history illustrates that the influence of these subglacial rivers is both significant and highly changeable over time. The role of subglacial water in ice dynamics must be part of the conversation, or else we don鈥檛 have the full picture.鈥�

Dr. Tyler Pelle, a postdoctoral researcher at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in the U.S., contributed to this work. The study, , appears in Nature Communications.

(Banner image credit:听Dr. Felicity McCormack, SAEF/Monash University)