As warnings about ice melt in Antarctica accelerate, a new scientific study reveals that East Antarctica, long considered more stable than the West, experienced a massive ice sheet retreat about 9,000 years ago due to a complex interaction between oceans and glaciers. The study explains that the ice melt at that time was not a simple gradual process, but rather the result of a strong feedback loop between meltwater and changing ocean currents. When the floating ice shelves began to collapse, it triggered enhanced warm water flows beneath them, which in turn accelerated the melting. This discovery sheds light on hidden mechanisms that make ice more vulnerable to current global warming.
