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- Antarctic glacier retreating at rate 10 times faster than previously measured: Study (abcnews.go.com)
Antarctic Glacier’s “Sprint” Retreat Raises Concerns Among Scientists
A recent study has revealed that an Antarctic glacier is retreating at an unprecedented rate, nearly ten times faster than previously observed for grounded glaciers. The Hektoria Glacier, located on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula, experienced a five-mile retreat in just two months, a finding that has glaciologists closely monitoring the region.
Researchers began observing the Larsen Bay area in Antarctica in 2021, anticipating the imminent break-up of a large section of sea ice. When this ice detached by January 2022, the team continued to monitor the area to understand how local glaciers would react.
“Glaciers have a tendency to react if you remove the floating part of them,” explained Naomi Ochwat, a glaciologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Innsbruck. Later that year, more ice, this time from Hektoria, also calved into the sea.
Grounded glaciers, which are anchored to land rather than floating, typically retreat less than 1,000 feet annually. However, satellite and aerial imagery from November and December 2022 indicated that the Hektoria Glacier was retreating at a staggering rate of nearly half a mile per day at certain points.
Scientists hypothesize that as the glacier thinned, it moved onto an ice plain, the bedrock connecting the grounded and floating sections of the glacier. This eventually led to the entire ice plain becoming exposed to the ocean, causing it to float and intensifying the glacier’s calving process.
The dramatic calving events were so severe they even generated measurable earthquakes in the region. Hektoria continues to shed massive icebergs into the ocean.
Antarctica remains a critical focus for climate scientists due to its potential impact on global sea levels as temperatures rise. Particular attention is paid to the continent’s western shelf, home to two unstable glaciers: the Thwaites Glacier, often referred to as the “Doomsday Glacier,” which already contributes to 4% of global sea level rise, and the Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica’s fastest-melting glacier.
Ochwat emphasized that similar rapid calving events at Thwaites or Pine Island could have “significant implications” for global sea level stability. The study’s findings highlight the urgent need for further research into Antarctica’s bedrock. “We definitely need to study it more,” she stated.