Copernicus ECMWF’s Post

In 2024, sea ice cover has again shrunk to a near record low, reaching a minimum extent of just 1.99 million square kilometres on 20 February – the second lowest figure on record, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center in the US. If 2024 is like last year, there’s going to be a lot of evidence suggesting that Antarctic sea ice has changed, potentially irreversibly.

The analysis of ice cores provided the first concrete evidence that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet suffered rapid ice loss around the end of the Last Ice Age.

Another extreme low for Antarctic sea ice signals a permanent shift https://lnkd.in/dN6WXW-C An area of missing Antarctic sea ice twice the size of Texas adds to concerns that the ice has seen a lasting “regime shift”, with consequences for ecosystems and global ocean circulation

Change in Antarctic ice shelf area from 2009 to 2019! Overall, the Antarctic ice shelf area has grown by 5305 km2 since 2009, with 18 ice shelves retreating and 16 larger shelves growing in area. https://lnkd.in/d9H5SG6T

A single Antarctic heatwave or storm could noticeably raise the sea level worldwide. "Scientists have long known that there is a potential for sudden accelerations in the rate at which ice is lost from Greenland and Antarctica which could cause considerably more sea-level rise: perhaps a metre or more in a century. Once started, this would be impossible to stop," researchers from University of Lincoln and the Danish Meteorological Institute warn. In 2022 unusually warm rain fell on the Conger ice shelf in Antarctica, causing it to disappear almost overnight. In July 2023 at one point 67% of the Greenland ice sheet surface was melting, compared with around 20% for average July conditions. 🧊 A better understanding of polar ice melt dynamics can help understand risks associated with global sea level changes. Learn more: https://ow.ly/C4yX50QKE5S

2023: The first year above 1.5°C global mean temperature relative to preindustrial !!! Do you know that 2023 is also remarkable because: 1. Record annual average warmth in both the land and ocean records;  2. Particularly extreme warmth observed over Central and South America, parts of Asia, and the North Atlantic;  3. Record low Antarctic sea ice during the Antarctic winter; 4. Seven months with monthly averages at least 1.5°C/2.7°F warmer than their pre-industrial average (September has the largest average anomaly ever observed at 1.84°C) (Source: Berkeley Earth 2024, find more information in the New report released) https://lnkd.in/e9NmwVsZ #climatechange #sustainability #environmentalresponsibility

Recovery of unique geological samples sheds light on formation of today's Antarctic ice sheet, JULY 4, 2024 Sediment samples from drill cores combined with complex climate and ice-sheet modeling show that permanent glaciation of Antarctica began around 34 million years ago not the entire continent encompassed by glaciation as previously assumed, but rather was confined to the eastern region of the continent (East Antarctica). It was not until at least 7 million years later that ice was able to advance towards the West Antarctic coast.   https://lnkd.in/gBxGMh7Q

In this issue: dynamics of Antarctic glaciers in the Holocene Epoch, Rayleigh–Taylor turbulence and oil spill mitigation, and the evolution of rubisco for improved efficiency. https://ow.ly/6tE450QSBaP

Global warming and the effects of climate change has started to deplete the legacy ice in the Poles, which is very alarming.. sea-level rise due to this can create unprecedented submergence of coastal cities and settlements..

Antarctic Glaciers Accelerate and Retreat Due to Warm Ocean Waters Summary: Multiple Antarctic glaciers are experiencing rapid acceleration and ice loss, driven by warm ocean temperatures causing sea ice retreat. This unprecedented phenomenon underscores the need to consider sea ice in predicting future sea level rise. #Antarcticglaciers #iceloss #warmoceantemperatures #seaiceretreat #glacierdynamics #sealevelrise #climatechange https://lnkd.in/d--8ypdt