Robotic submarine found mysterious melt patterns under Antarctic ice

As our planet continues to grapple with the effects of climate change, an unlikely pioneer — an unmanned submersible named ‘Ran’ — is shedding new light on the melting Antarctic ice shelves.

With its cutting-edge sonar, Ran has spent 27 days weaving through the underbelly of the Dotson Ice Shelf, covering a staggering 1000 kilometers, and revealing never-before-seen details about these icy expanses.

Antarctic Dotson Ice Shelf melt

The Dotson Ice Shelf in West Antarctica is a significant player in the discussion about future sea levels.

Far from being flat, passive expanses of ice, these shelves are dynamic, evolving entities. They’re thick bodies of glacial ice sustained by land-based glaciers.

Uniquely, these ice shelves float atop the sea — and beneath them are ice shelf cavities.

One such cavity was the focus of Ran’s recent mission – a survey that has unlocked new secrets about the structures and melting patterns of these ice shelves.

The Dotson Ice Shelf, in particular, plays a crucial role in the West Antarctic ice sheet’s overall stability and potential future sea level rise due to its size and location.

What lurks beneath Antarctica’s ice

The glacial exploration yielded expected results: the ice melted faster where strong underwater currents erode its base.

But what was surprising was the irregularity of the base itself.

Instead of the smooth surface expected, the underwater landscape was reminiscent of peaks, valleys, plateaus and formations akin to sand dunes.

The team believes these features may have been sculpted by flowing water under the influence of Earth’s rotation.

This unexpected discovery has challenged previous scientific assumptions, sparking new questions about the complex mechanisms of glacier melting.

Unique perspective on Antarctic melt

“By navigating the submersible into the cavity, we were able to get high-resolution maps of the ice underside. It’s a bit like seeing the back of the moon for the first time,” said lead author Anna Wåhlin, Professor of Oceanography at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

This exploration was part of the TARSAN project, a collaborative endeavor studying the atmospheric and oceanic processes influencing the behavior of the Thwaites “doomsday glacier” and Dotson Ice Shelves.

While the project expected to gather data, the spectacle they discovered was beyond their wildest dreams.

Cracks, swirls and patterns

Upon receiving the first images from beneath the ice shelf, the researchers were thrilled yet baffled.

The textures and patterns they saw were unexpected, resembling works of art more than naturally occurring formations.

Intrigued by these findings, the team brainstormed to understand the forces behind them.

As they delved deeper, they found a series of firsts – a glimpse, for the first time, into the processes that melt the underside of ice shelves.

Melting Antarctic ice shelves

While these ice shelves floating on the sea may not directly affect sea levels when they melt, the repercussions are more indirect.

As these ice shelves melt, the land-based glaciers they feed flow faster and destabilize, leading to a rise in sea levels.

The newly uncovered data will significantly help ice modelers reduce the uncertainties in future sea level predictions.

Despite a wealth of new discoveries, the exploration also revealed numerous processes still left to understand in future expeditions.

Existing models could not explain the complex patterns discovered. Continued collaborative study, combining remote sensing with oceanographic field data, is needed to understand the changes taking place.

“For us, it’s not just a new discovery, but also a wake-up call that many previous assumptions about melting of glacier undersides are falling short,” elucidates Prof Wåhlin.

Future of Antarctic ice melt

The research expedition planned to repeat the survey in January 2024, eager to document any changes. Unfortunately, the team could only complete one dive before Ran disappeared under the ice.

“Although we got valuable data back, we did not get all we had hoped for,” said Prof Wåhlin.

Despite the setback, the team remains optimistic and hopeful of continuing this crucial research.

In the midst of the climate crisis, every bit of insight matters. As we unravel the mysteries of these icy landscapes, we inch closer to understanding our planet’s future.

This important and disturbing research from the University of East Anglia and the University of Gothenburg is leading the way, and we anxiously anticipate their next expedition into the unknown.

The full study was published in the journal Science Advances.

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