Antarctica’s ice shelves are vulnerable to melting from below – knowing how far ocean heat reaches is crucial

A rare dataset collected by instruments at the point where Antarctica’s largest ice shelf begins to float reveals ocean processes that drive melting at this critical part of the continent. During a 2019 expedition to the Kamb Ice Stream, a string of hydrographic instruments was deployed into a thin wedge of ocean beneath the shelf where it begins to lift off at nearly 83 degrees South. Instruments collected data on changing currents, temperature, and salinity for nine months.

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