Researchers from the University of Leeds, noted for their glaciology work, report a rapid retreat and thinning of the Cadman Glacier on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The findings appear in Nature Communications.
Satellite imagery reveals that between November 2018 and May 2021, the Cadman Glacier retreated about eight kilometers as ice shelves that formerly buttressed the coast weakened and collapsed, allowing closer contact between land ice and the sea.
Scientists describe the ice shelf as a crucial containment layer that kept coastal ice floes from advancing into open water.
With this buffer removed, the Cadman Glacier increased its ice discharge into the ocean, now estimated at 2.16 billion tonnes per year.
Team leader Benjamin Wallis remarked that the speed of change surprised researchers, noting how Cadman shifted from a seemingly stable glacier to one experiencing rapid degradation and substantial ice loss.
Cadman Glacier is currently categorized as being in a state of significant dynamic instability. Observations show ongoing thinning and a fall in surface height by roughly 20 meters each year, a decline comparable to the height of a five-story building.
Experts link the swift dynamic shifts in the Cadman ice system to unusually warm ocean temperatures that affected the region early in the 2018 to 2019 period. A tipping point was reached when warmer water arrived and caused the ice shelf to detach from the ocean floor, an event that coincided with a 28 percent rise in the glacier’s ice consumption over 13 months.
In contrast, neighboring glaciers, Funk and Lever, have remained comparatively stable. Researchers attribute this relative resilience to underwater ridges located 200 to 230 meters below the surface, which act as a barrier by steering warmer water away from the shore.
Earlier studies highlighted the irreversible melting trends impacting West Antarctica, underscoring the lasting balance shifts in this region.