Roughly 35 million years ago, Earth cooled rapidly. At roughly the same time, the Drake Passage formed between South America and the Antarctic, paving the way for the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Thanks to these two factors, Antarctica was soon completely covered in ice. As a study from the Alfred Wegener Institute now shows, this massive glaciation was delayed in at least one region. This new piece of the puzzle concerning the early history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could help to predict its unstable future. The study was just released in theNaturejournalCommunications Earth & Environment.
Forclimate researchers, the West Antarctic has been in the spotlight for years. Here, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet lying atop the…
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Exposing the Big Game 