Amundsen Embayment = mass loss hotspot
Mass loss in AntarcticaHotspots of change
Antarctica with/without ice
Pine Island and Thwaites Glacier have retrograde beds below sea level which makes them prone to marine ice sheet instability
Sea level rise potential
However, when retreating further, they could destabilize the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which contains enough ice to raise sea level by ~3.4 m.
How much? How fast?An uncertain future
Satellite observations
Damage accelerates mass loss
Tearing an ice shelf apart
Preconditioned for disintegration
Unprecedented retreat
More sensitive
Damage feedback
Modelling damage
Modelling damage impact
Damage accelerates mass loss
Implications
Damage implications
Damage implications
It also underlines the need for incorporating these feedback processes, which are currently not accounted for in most ice sheet models, to improve sea level rise projections.
Acknowledgements
More info?
We gratefully acknowledge NWO, NASA, CNES, ESA, NSIDC, Enveo and the European Commission for their support via funding or as a data provider.