glaciology
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Huge Groundwater System Discovered Under Antarctica
Antarctica, far from just a sprawling mass of ice, is a geologically complex continent made of expansive glaciers, jagged bedrock, and, as new research finds, large amounts of groundwater. A study published today in the journal Science describes a thick layer of groundwater underneath West Antarctica with the potential to govern the continent’s ice streams. The…
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Antarctic Sea Ice Hits Lowest Level Since 1970s
Sea ice around Antarctica has dropped to the lowest level in more than 40 years, according to satellite data from the National Snow and Ice Data Centre.
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Boaty McBoatface Is Set to Confront Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier
The world’s cutest submersible is about the visit the world’s most dangerous glacier. An international team of researchers set off from Chile on a 65-day voyage to Antarctica. There, they’ll deploy Boaty McBoatface and a host of other instruments to explore what’s going on underneath Thwaites Glacier, one of the horsemen of the sea-level-rise apocalypse.
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Massive Rift Detected in Arctic’s ‘Last Refuge of Ice’
During spring 2020, a temporary gap the size of Rhode Island appeared in the sea ice to the north of Canada’s northernmost island. Troublingly, this rift is located in the so-called “Last Ice Area” — a frozen expanse that’s expected to host the last remnants of Arctic sea ice as our world gets continually warmer.