Antarctic sea ice [image credit: BBC]
There’s still a long way to go though: “We want to know how those factors are impacting the ice sheets.” Researchers conclude “it’s essential to enhance our models, particularly in representing sea ice dynamics.”
– – –
As the world continues to warm, Antarctica is losing ice at an increasing pace, but the loss of sea ice may lead to more snowfall over the ice sheets, partially offsetting contributions to sea level rise, according to Penn State scientists. — Phys.org reporting.
The researchers analyzed the impacts of decreased sea ice in the Amundsen Sea in West Antarctica and found the ice-free ocean surface leads to more moisture in the atmosphere and heavier snowfalls on the ice sheet, the team reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
While the additional snowfall is not enough to offset the impacts of melting ice, including it in climate models may improve predictions of things like sea level rise, said Luke Trusel, assistant professor of geography at Penn State and co-author of the study.
The Antarctic ice sheet plays a significant role in global sea level dynamics. As one of the world’s largest reservoirs of freshwater, any change in its volume directly impacts sea levels.
Trusel noted that while popular attention is often on visible processes like chunks of ice breaking away, or calving, and floating away as icebergs, more subtle interactions—like snowfall on the ice sheet—can be equally significant.
“For a place like Antarctica, which is just massive, the amount of snow falling on top of the ice sheet is as important or even more important than other processes like meltwater or ice breaking off,” Trusel said. “We’re tracking both snowfall and melt to understand both ends of the equation—what takes from sea level and what gets returned to the ocean. We want to know how those factors are impacting the ice sheets.”
The primary source of snowfall in Antarctica is evaporation from the surrounding oceans, with sea ice playing a pivotal role in modulating this process, according to researchers.
. . .
The team’s findings emphasize the need for refining current climate models to enhance their predictive accuracy, the scientists said.
“If we aim to project future sea level changes with precision, it’s essential to enhance our models, particularly in representing sea ice dynamics,” Trusel said.
Full article here.
via Tallbloke’s Talkshop
November 9, 2023 at 02:09PM
Iowa Climate Science Education 