The discovery has significant scientific implications.
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“The tip of the iceberg” is a phrase that suggests there is more to a situation than meets the eye. But ice shelves are also hiding secrets underneath the ocean’s surface.
A team of international scientists used a submersible to map the underside of Antarctic ice, and the presence of dips, swirls, and interesting shapes in the glacier astounded the researchers.
“We were surprised — we had to double check it was real,” Anna Wåhlin, professor of physical oceanography at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, told the BBC. “But we realized, it really does look like this — there are these shapes. There is a landscape of ice down there we had no idea about before.”
Aside from being a fascinating insight into the world below the freezing waters, the discovery also has significant scientific implications. It increases our understanding of how meltwater from thawing ice can impact the structure of an ice shelf and demonstrates the direction of this water’s flow.
This means that scientists could improve predictions on how melting sea ice will affect coastal cities across the globe as water levels rise.
The researchers pointed to the Thwaites Glacier as an example of the perils of shrinking ice structures. As Alex Brisbourne, a glacier geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey, told the BBC, this body of ice melting completely would lead to sea levels rising by 65 centimeters, which would have a global impact.
“Over the last 30 years, Thwaites’ [melt rate] has pretty much doubled — and we know that’s accelerating,” Brisbourne added. “We think it’s going to keep accelerating, and at some point it could get much quicker.”
A warming planet as a result of human-caused pollution is speeding up the rate of glacial melting. While this can increase sea levels — and the frozen buttresses that are ice shelves hold land-based ice from entering the ocean and beginning to melt, per the BBC — it can also significantly affect the ocean ecosystem.
With melting increasing and occurring much earlier in the year, phytoplankton blooms are increasing in biomass. While this can have benefits, since this marine algae plays a massive role in carbon sequestration, it could also have consequences for the ocean food chain since it is a foundational food source.
Among the fears is that the disappearing of ice will shift the cycle of phytoplankton blooms, and changing ocean chemistry and mixing scenarios could also negatively affect the process — including in certain ways that could stop phytoplankton from blooming, according to the researchers.
This all demonstrates how changes in our environment can lead to significant knock-on effects. But it also suggests that minor alterations in our lifestyle can also have a positive impact later down the line.
Reducing our polluting impact — by saving energy, avoiding gas-guzzling cars when possible, and eating more plant-based meals, among other actions — might not feel like much, but the benefits for the planet can be profound.