How the ocean melts Antarctic ice

What happens in Antarctica does not stay in Antarctica: sea level rise and changed ocean properties caused by melting ice sheets will influence the globe. Changes occurring around the Antarctic margins, in particular, have profound impacts. Processes occurring on the Antarctic shelf control ice discharge into the ocean from the Antarctic ice sheet and thus global sea level rise, the global ocean overturning circulation and global surface climate. Yet, because the environment is so remote and extreme, the Antarctic margins remain sparsely observed. Further, simulating the range of processes important on the shelf is highly challenging. Three studies in Communications Earth & Environment, by Friedrichs and colleagues, Aoki and colleagues and Verfaillie and colleagues, investigate local, regional and hemispheric conditions and processes that influence how the ocean melts ice shelves.