[Research Press Release] Climate change: Antarctic ice shelves threatened by ocean warming (Nature)

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

64% : Under warming conditions, Antarctic ice sheets are melting at an accelerated rate, and becoming a major contributor to global sea-level rise.
60% : To mitigate future sea-level rise and preserve the structural integrity of Antarctic ice shelves and ice sheets, low-emission pathways must be prioritized.
59% : Improved data on ocean-ice interactions are also needed to enhance future modelling of Antarctic shelf stability.
51% : Previous studies have assessed future ice shelf stability but often overlook ocean warming as a key driver of decline.
49% : The authors found that the point at which ice shelves become non-viable depends on the emissions scenario.
46% : By contrast, under a high-emission scenario with warming reaching nearly 12 °C by 2300, 38 (59%) Antarctic ice shelves become non-viable, which will potentially contribute to 10 m of sea-level rise.
44% : To better understand when and under what conditions ice shelves may lose structural integrity, Clara Burgard and colleagues conducted simulations that accounted for both ocean and atmospheric warming.
40% : The modelling suggests that ice sheet losses would be much lower under a scenario in which warming remains below 2 °C, which underscores the urgency of pursuing low emissions to safeguard Antarctic ice shelves and coastal regions.
39% : The authors suggest that their estimate for ice shelf disappearance under the high-emission scenario is conservative, as collapse could also be triggered by damage, rifting, fracturing and calving.
36% : Up to 59% of Antarctic ice shelves may be at risk of disappearing under high-emission scenarios by 2300, according to a comprehensive analysis of the effect of ocean warming published in Nature.
35% : Ice shelves surrounding the sheets act as protective barriers by restraining ice flow into the ocean, but under increasing emissions they face thinning and collapse.

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