“It is therefore important to know when and under what conditions these meltwater lakes form.“, explains KU Leuven researcher Stef Lhermitte. “We assumed that they usually formed under a temperature of -5°C“, he continues before declaring that he and his team of researchers have “for the first time contrasted the amount of meltwater on an ice shelf with the amount of precipitation“.
Relatively little snow falls on some ice shelves including Ross. During heavy falls, the snow acts as a sort of sponge preventing the formation of melt lakes. Since this phenomenon is limited on the Ross platform, melt lakes form as soon as the average annual temperature reaches -15°C, note the glaciologists.
With average global warming, these temperatures might be reached as early as the end of this century, according to the latest climate models. “The results made sense” according to M.Lhermitte who also states that “the impact of snow is clear on the threshold of formation of melt lakes“. Antarctica will play a role “incredibly important in general sea level rise, especially in Western Europe” et “our research has contributed to a better understanding of this phenomenon“, he concludes.
