A team of scientists led by Assistant Professor of Geography Shujie Wang have analyzed the events leading up to the 2002 collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf, presenting data that may help predict similar events in Antarctica.
Wang said, “The collapse is generally thought of as an independent event. Our work shows that it was the last phase in a calving sequence that began in 1998 and was controlled by both atmospheric and oceanic warming anomalies that weakened the ice shelf structure over time.”
The team’s research, which scrutinizes data from as early as the 1960s, could refine sea-level rise projections. Understanding the nuanced indicators of ice shelf instability is crucial for predicting the impacts of global warming on polar ice sheets.