Exploring the hidden ocean beneath the Ross ice Shelf

摘要

Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf is the world's largest floating slab of ice: it's about the size of Spain, and nearly a kilometre thick. The ocean beneath, roughly the volume of the North Sea, is one of the most important but least understood parts of the climate system. We are part of the multi-disciplinary Aotearoa New Zealand Ross Ice Shelf Programme team, and have melted a hole through hundreds of metres of ice to explore this ocean and the ice shelf's vulnerability to climate change. Our measurements show that this hidden ocean is warming and freshening - but in ways we weren't expecting.