New Study Indicates Abnormal Temperatures Below ice Sheet in Antarctica

They remark that this is a odd discovery which might provide important data to help determine the future of this ice sheet.

The geothermal heat being generated beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet is “surprisingly high”, say the authors.

This crucial factor can help explain why this ice sheet has been so unstable. Lakes and streams forming beneath the West Antarctic are lubricating the ice streams’ motion, carrying them to the onto the ice shelves. This was also the first time ever that geothermal heat was measured below the ice sheet in West Antarctic and therefore the research team was not sure how localized the geothermal conditions could be.

During their research, scientists used a special probe that can measure geothermal heat in the sediments located underneath the Subglacial Lake Whillans.

Once drilling was completed, the UC/Santa Cruz-built probe was lowered through the “borehole until it buried itself in the sediments below the subglacial lake”. The probe measured temperatures at different depths, which revealed a change in temperature. The results indicate a relatively rapid flow of heat towards the bottom of the ice sheet.

Apart from this there was a study past year in Nature, the WISSARD microbiology team had reported that there was an abundant and diverse microbial ecosystem is the same lake.

The finding represents one of the most viable explanations for the instability of the West Antarctic ice shelf. The ice gradually flows out toward the edges. However, too much water can be unsafe to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

“Unstable” seems to be a good word to describe the behavior of the ice sheet: As The Register points out, parts of the ice sheet are melting more and more quickly for reasons scientists believe may be related to geology rather than climate change, while other parts are melting at slower rates.

Exactly what the new geothermal heating figures mean for the forecasts remains to be seen, but it is clear that the amount of geothermal heating is a good bit more than scientists had thought. The project has two other participating organizations besides UC Santa Cruz. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

Researchers need to make precise estimates of how the underwater geothermal activity is going to affect the ice sheet. The study has been published on July 10 in the journal Science Advances.

They found that a considerable amount of heat travels upward from these geothermal sources toward the base of the structure. The study’s lead author said the “combination of variable subglacial geothermal heat flow and the interacting subglacial water system could threaten the stability of Thwaites Glacier in ways that we never before imagined”.

Read the abstract and get the paper here.