Instabilities and Thresholds in Antarctica

• Published in: Past Global Changes Magazine
• Main Authors: Colleoni, F., Naish, T., Gasson, E., Jamieson, S., Johnson, J., Klemann, V., Levy, R., Lloyd, A., Nowicki, S., Priestley, R., Silvano, A., Simms, A., Thomas, E., Van de Wal, R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelves
• Online Access: https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5025869; https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5025869_1/component/file_5025971/5025869.pdf

Current deep uncertainties in the projected global mean sea-level rise result from knowledge gaps in the physical processes involved in the response of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) to global warming in the coming decades to centuries (Fox-Kemper et al. 2021). Many of the ice shelves fringing Antarctica are at risk of rapid thinning, or collapse, due to oceanic and atmospheric warming, with likely impacts on the position of the ice-sheet grounding line. It is critical for the ice-sheet community to determine whether Antarctica’s margins have already crossed a tipping point, and if so, when and how much mass loss will take place. A multi-disciplinary approach is required to advance the state of knowledge on tipping points spanning a large range of spatio-temporal scales and components of the polar-climate system. This is the overarching objective of the SCAR Instabilities and Thresholds in Antarctica (INSTANT) Scientific Research Programme (Colleoni et al. 2022). .