LANZHOU, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Facing the acceleration of glacier flow within the Antarctic Peninsula, a group of Chinese researchers has figured out that such a phenomenon was caused by the upper-ocean warming.
Antarctica is considered a "barometer" of the global climate system. In recent years, the accelerating mass loss of its ice sheet and the increasing dynamic imbalance of its marine-terminating glaciers have become increasingly pronounced.
Beascochea Bay in the western Antarctic Peninsula is one of the most active regions in the Antarctic climate system. Previous studies have linked short-lived glacier speed-ups to surface meltwater drainage or episodic ocean intrusions, yet it remained unclear whether persistent ocean warming can maintain regional acceleration.
To clarify the regulatory mechanisms of the ocean and atmosphere on glaciers, researchers from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources under the Chinese Academy of Sciences selected this region as their study area.
Based on observational data from 2015 to 2025, they achieved high-frequency, high-precision, and full-region monitoring of flow velocities for 101 glaciers in the bay.
The analysis results showed that mean summer glacier velocities were higher than those in winter, according to their recent research article published in the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation. Widespread acceleration of glacier flow has occurred since 2018.
"That year may serve as a critical turning point," said Kang Yulong, the first author of the research article. The widespread and sustained acceleration of glacier flow velocities was likely a signal of a critical regime shift in the climate system.
This suggests that the response of Antarctic Peninsula glaciers to global warming is becoming increasingly pronounced.
The research team quantitatively analyzed the contributions of various factors, such as ocean temperature and air temperature, to glacier flow velocity. They ultimately reached the key conclusion that the acceleration of glacier flow was not dominated by glacial meltwater but was closely related to heat input in the shallow subsurface of the upper ocean at depths of 0-300 meters.
The study also found that glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula are currently exhibiting a significantly increased sensitivity to external warming, and their supporting structures have become more fragile.
This study not only deepens the scientific community's understanding of Antarctic ice sheet dynamics and ice-ocean interaction mechanisms but also provides key scientific evidence for global sea level rise projections and the improvement of climate models.
Kang said their research team will expand the warm-water driving mechanism at depths of 0-300 meters to other regions of Antarctica to test its generalizability.
They pledged to construct longer-term observation data to further reveal the long-term stability and critical thresholds of the Antarctic ice sheet, thereby accumulating more scientific support for polar cryosphere research. ■
