Central OC Times

A team of glaciologists led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine used high-resolution satellite radar data to find evidence of the intrusion of warm, high-pressure seawater many kilometers beneath the grounded ice of West Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier. The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The UC Irvine-led team found that widespread contact between ocean water and the glacier – a process replicated throughout Antarctica and in Greenland – causes “vigorous melting” and may require a reassessment of global sea level rise projections. The data was gathered from March to June 2023 by Finland’s ICEYE commercial satellite mission.

“These ICEYE data provided a long-time series of daily observations closely conforming to tidal cycles,” said lead author Eric Rignot, UC Irvine professor of Earth system science. He added that thanks to ICEYE, they were beginning to witness this tidal dynamic for the first time.

Michael Wollersheim, co-author and ICEYE Director of Analytics, noted that observing these processes from space using radar satellite images marked a significant leap forward.

Rignot explained that seawater coming in at the base of the ice sheet, combined with freshwater generated by geothermal flux and friction, builds up and has to flow somewhere. This water distribution creates enough pressure to elevate the ice sheet.

Co-author Christine Dow, professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, expressed concern about underestimating the speed at which Thwaites Glacier is changing. She warned this could be devastating for coastal communities around the world.

Rignot hopes this project will spur further research on conditions beneath Antarctic glaciers. He also called for increased funding for such research efforts.

In conclusion, Rignot said this study would provide lasting benefits to ice sheet modeling community. By including ocean-ice interaction into models, he expects higher confidence levels in projections. Dow added that improving models and focusing research on critical glaciers will help people adapt to changing ocean levels.

The research project also involved Enrico Ciraci, UC Irvine assistant specialist in Earth system science and NASA postdoctoral fellow; Bernd Scheuchl, UC Irvine researcher in Earth system science; and ICEYE’s Valentyn Tolpekin. The research received financial support from NASA and the National Science Foundation.