The ice-ocean transition zone, previously thought to be a sharp boundary, is actually a large area (several kilometers wide) where seawater rises and falls under the influence of tides and actively melts the ice base.
Satellite data showed that the Petermann Glacier shifted several kilometers under the influence of tides. This movement, taken into account in climate models, shows a sharp increase in the melting rate from 3 m3/year in the 1990s to 10 m3/year today. Including the increased spacing of the ice-ocean transition zone in the models resulted in a much larger estimate of ice thinning (140 metres) compared to considering only warmer water (40 metres).
Conventional models have significantly underestimated melting rates. This study shows that sea level rise may be much worse than previously thought.
Source: Ferra
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