Phys.org  June 25, 2024 Recently published studies of the complex hydrography of grounding zones suggest that warm ocean water can intrude large distances beneath the ice sheet, with dramatic consequences for ice dynamics. Researchers in the UK developed a model to capture the feedback between intruded ocean water, the melting it induces and the resulting changes in ice geometry showing a sensitive dependence of the grounding-zone dynamics on this feedback: as the grounding zone widens in response to melting, both temperature and flow velocity in the region increase, further enhancing melting. They found that increases in ocean temperature could lead […]