Antarctic meteorites threatened by climate warming

• Published in: Nature Climate Change
• Main Authors: Tollenaar, Veronica, Zekollari, Harry, Kittel, Christoph, Farinotti, Daniel, Lhermitte, Stef, Debaille, Vinciane, Goderis, Steven, Claeys, Philippe, Joy, Katherine Helen, Pattyn, Frank
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctica; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/publications/bd5a30ee-517a-4964-84b5-00225ba22927; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-01954-y

Over 60% of meteorite finds on Earth originate from Antarctica. Using a data-driven analysis that identifies meteorite-rich sites in Antarctica, we show that, due to climate warming, many extra-terrestrial rocks are lost from the surface by melting into the ice sheet. Currently, ~5000 meteorites/year become inaccessible (vs. ~1000 finds/year), and, independent of the emission scenario, ~24% are lost by 2050, potentially rising to ~76% by 2100 under a high-emission scenario.