Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

Hidden rivers under Antarctica impact ice flow and stability

Large channels of meltwater snake beneath the ice in the Weddell Sea region of Antarctica. This water affects the speed of ice flow above and the melt rate of the ice when it reaches the ocean, having a direct role in the response of Antarctica to climate change.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Subglacial channel extent and discharge into the Weddell Sea.

References

  1. Nienow, P., Sole, A., Slater, D. A. & Cowton, T. Recent advances in our understanding of the role of meltwater in the Greenland Ice Sheet system. Curr. Clim. Change Rep. 3, 330–344 (2017). A review article that summarizes the hydrological systems at the surface and base of the Greenland Ice Sheet.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Werder, M. A., Hewitt, I. J., Schoof, C. G. & Flowers, G. E. Modeling channelized and distributed subglacial drainage in two dimensions. J. Geophys. Res. Earth. 118, 2140–2158 (2013). This paper presents the Glacier Drainage System Model (GlaDS) that we use in this study.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Adusumilli, S., Fricker, H. A., Medley, B., Padman, L. & Siegfried, M. R. Interannual variations in meltwater input to the Southern Ocean from Antarctic ice shelves. Nat. Geosci. 13, 616–620 (2020). This study presents ice shelf melt rates for all of Antarctica derived from satellite altimetry analyses.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Alley, K. E., Scambos, T. A., Siegfried, M. R. & Fricker, H. A. Impacts of warm water on Antarctic ice shelf stability through basal channel formation. Nat. Geosci. 9, 290–293 (2016). This paper presents an inventory of ice shelf basal channels around Antarctica along with analyses of their impact on ice shelf stability.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Rignot, E. et al. Four decades of Antarctic Ice Sheet mass balance from 1979–2017. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 1095–1103 (2019). This paper compares mass loss for different regions of Antarctica over four decades, showing considerable acceleration of ice loss.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Dow, C. F. et al. Antarctic basal environment shaped by high-pressure flow through a subglacial river system. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01059-1 (2022).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hidden rivers under Antarctica impact ice flow and stability. Nat. Geosci. 15, 869–870 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01060-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01060-8

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing