Antarctica has long been seen as a remote, unchanging environment. Not any more.
The ice-covered continent and the surrounding Southern Ocean are undergoing abrupt and alarming changes. Sea ice is shrinking rapidly, the floating glaciers known as ice shelves are melting faster, the ice sheets carpeting the continent are approaching tipping points and vital ocean currents show signs of slowing down.
Published today in Nature, our new research shows these abrupt changes are already underway – and likely to significantly intensify in the future.
