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Antarctica

Ice shelves guarded by snow shields

Nature Climate Change volume 13, pages 119–120 (2023)Cite this article

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Floating ice shelves that fringe Antarctica are at risk from warming ocean water and from above by warming air. Work now reveals that snow accumulation on ice shelves can minimize surface melt and ponding, but that future atmospheric warming will likely overpower this protection that snow provides, leaving ice shelves vulnerable to collapse.

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  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Lauren M. Simkins

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  1. Lauren M. Simkins
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Correspondence to Lauren M. Simkins.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Simkins, L.M. Ice shelves guarded by snow shields. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 119–120 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01587-z

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