The waters around Antarctica are undergoing a startling transformation: the Southern Ocean is rapidly becoming saltier even as sea ice vanishes at record rates, an area of ice lost since 2015 equivalent to the size of Greenland.
This was entirely unexpected. Typically, melting ice freshens the sea. But new satellite and underwater robot data reveal rising salinity, which draws up deep ocean heat and makes it harder for sea ice to reform. This may have triggered a dangerous feedback loop, locking us into a new state of persistent sea ice decline.
The global stakes are immense: less ice means more heat released into the atmosphere, stronger storms, intensifying heatwaves, faster melting of Antarctic ice sheets, and rising seas worldwide.
Thanks to cutting-edge technology from the European Space Agency and researchers at the universities of Southampton and Barcelona, we’re now able to monitor this unfolding crisis in real-time, although the signs are increasingly ominous. Read More
News Credit: The Conversation
Picture Credit: The Southern Ocean surrounds Antarctica, which is fringed by sea ice. Nasa