Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have gained unique insight into the mechanisms behind the collapse of Antarctic ice shelves, which are crucial for sea level rise in the Northern Hemisphere.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have gained unique insight into the mechanisms behind the collapse of Antarctic ice shelves, which are crucial for sea level rise in the Northern Hemisphere. The discovery of old aerial photos has provided an unparalleled dataset that can improve predictions of sea level rise and how we should prioritise coastal protection and other forms of climate adaptation.
On 28 November 1966, an American aeroplane flies over the Antarctic Peninsula just south of the southernmost tip of Chile.
On board is a photographer, probably from the US Navy, whose job is to map the Antarctic landscape. But it turns out that the photographer is also documenting a very special situation that is in progress. He shoots an aerial photo of the Wordie Ice Shelf, which, 30 years later, has almost vanished after a total collapse.
The consequence of this collapse was that the ‘plug’ that held large amounts of glacier ice broke off, leaving the ice sheet floating freely into the sea.
Read more at University of Copenhagen - Faculty of Science
Image: Wordie before and after collapse 1966-2022 (Credit: Mads Domgaard)
