State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: West Antarctica

  • Increase in West Antarctic Ice Sheet Melting Inevitable in 21st Century

    Increase in West Antarctic Ice Sheet Melting Inevitable in 21st Century

    Significant ocean warming and associated ice-shelf melting is unavoidable, even under the most ambitious future climate scenario, according to new research.

  • Antarctica Glacier Named for Glasgow Climate Negotiations at COP26

    Antarctica Glacier Named for Glasgow Climate Negotiations at COP26

    The Antarctic Place Naming Commission has agreed to name glaciers on the Southern Continent after city locations of past and present climate treaties.

  • Scientists Link Climate Change to Melting in West Antarctica

    Scientists Link Climate Change to Melting in West Antarctica

    A new study shows, for the first time, evidence of a link between human-caused global warming and melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

  • U.S., UK Scientists Join to Study Possible Collapse of Massive Antarctic Glacier

    U.S., UK Scientists Join to Study Possible Collapse of Massive Antarctic Glacier

    An international collaboration will study the wasting of the Thwaites glacier, which already accounts for around 4 percent of current global sea-level rise, and could collapse within decades or centuries.

  • Exploring Beneath Earth’s Changing Ice Sheets

    Exploring Beneath Earth’s Changing Ice Sheets

    If just the West Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt, it would raise global sea level by 6 meters. That’s more than a theoretical problem. West Antarctica is losing ice mass, and scientists are worried.

  • Smooth Sailing Back to Tasmania

    Smooth Sailing Back to Tasmania

    After a surprisingly smooth crossing of the Southern Ocean, with favorable winds we arrived back in Hobart, Tasmania. The weather maps show that we just got ahead of another big storm system.

  • Taking a 4,000-Meter-Deep Profile of Antarctic Waters

    Taking a 4,000-Meter-Deep Profile of Antarctic Waters

    In addition to understanding potential pathways for “warmer” circumpolar deep water to reach the ice shelf, we are also measuring what the structure and properties of the water column are and determining if there is already warmer water on or near the continental shelf that could already interact with the glaciers of East Antarctica today.

  • Mapping the Seafloor

    Mapping the Seafloor

    One of the goals of this expedition is to investigate if water from the Southern Ocean with temperatures above the melting point of glaciers could reach the glaciers in East Antarctica, and if there are any obstacles on the seafloor of the shelf that impact the ability of such water to reach the glaciers and…

  • In the Ice

    In the Ice

    Several days ago we reached our main work areas along the margin of East Antarctica. Our expedition is relatively late in the season and the seas around Antarctica are starting to freeze.

Science for the Planet: In these short video explainers, discover how scientists and scholars across the Columbia Climate School are working to understand the effects of climate change and help solve the crisis.
  • Increase in West Antarctic Ice Sheet Melting Inevitable in 21st Century

    Increase in West Antarctic Ice Sheet Melting Inevitable in 21st Century

    Significant ocean warming and associated ice-shelf melting is unavoidable, even under the most ambitious future climate scenario, according to new research.

  • Antarctica Glacier Named for Glasgow Climate Negotiations at COP26

    Antarctica Glacier Named for Glasgow Climate Negotiations at COP26

    The Antarctic Place Naming Commission has agreed to name glaciers on the Southern Continent after city locations of past and present climate treaties.

  • Scientists Link Climate Change to Melting in West Antarctica

    Scientists Link Climate Change to Melting in West Antarctica

    A new study shows, for the first time, evidence of a link between human-caused global warming and melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

  • U.S., UK Scientists Join to Study Possible Collapse of Massive Antarctic Glacier

    U.S., UK Scientists Join to Study Possible Collapse of Massive Antarctic Glacier

    An international collaboration will study the wasting of the Thwaites glacier, which already accounts for around 4 percent of current global sea-level rise, and could collapse within decades or centuries.

  • Exploring Beneath Earth’s Changing Ice Sheets

    Exploring Beneath Earth’s Changing Ice Sheets

    If just the West Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt, it would raise global sea level by 6 meters. That’s more than a theoretical problem. West Antarctica is losing ice mass, and scientists are worried.

  • Smooth Sailing Back to Tasmania

    Smooth Sailing Back to Tasmania

    After a surprisingly smooth crossing of the Southern Ocean, with favorable winds we arrived back in Hobart, Tasmania. The weather maps show that we just got ahead of another big storm system.

  • Taking a 4,000-Meter-Deep Profile of Antarctic Waters

    Taking a 4,000-Meter-Deep Profile of Antarctic Waters

    In addition to understanding potential pathways for “warmer” circumpolar deep water to reach the ice shelf, we are also measuring what the structure and properties of the water column are and determining if there is already warmer water on or near the continental shelf that could already interact with the glaciers of East Antarctica today.

  • Mapping the Seafloor

    Mapping the Seafloor

    One of the goals of this expedition is to investigate if water from the Southern Ocean with temperatures above the melting point of glaciers could reach the glaciers in East Antarctica, and if there are any obstacles on the seafloor of the shelf that impact the ability of such water to reach the glaciers and…

  • In the Ice

    In the Ice

    Several days ago we reached our main work areas along the margin of East Antarctica. Our expedition is relatively late in the season and the seas around Antarctica are starting to freeze.