Gauging Antarctica’s sponginess from space

The Antarctic climate and ecosystem are changing rapidly, raising many questions. CEG researchers under the direction of Bert Wouters, received a grant from the Dutch Research Council for more detailed Antarctic into firn, the compacted thick snow layer on Antarctic ice shelves. Firn acts as sponge, storing water when the surface melts. Climate change is reducing its ‘sponginess’, so that it can store less meltwater. If too much water collects at the surface, cracks in the ice can form and increase the risk of ice shelf collapse. The team will be heading to the George VI Ice Shelf on Antarctica to collect field measurements of the snow pack and combine them with satellite observations and model data to figure out how much more melt water Antarctica’s ice shelves can take. This will help to better understand how Antarctica will cope with global warming.

Read more about the research grants from the Dutch research council here.