Filchner-Ronne Ice in Antarctica Relatively Stable During Climate Change

The very large ice sheets of Antarctica are expected to play a substantial role in future climate change scenarios, possibly causing serious rises in sea levels. However, all Antarctic ice is not expected to behave in the same way as it undergoes climate change.

The Filchner-Ronne ice shelf is one region of ice scientists have modeled to see how it will react to climate change and, according to a release from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the news is good: The Filchner-Ronne ice melt is only expected to increase with increasing temperature but if the temperature ceases to rise, melting will stop.

The Filchner-Ronne ice behavior is in contrast to some other Antarctic regions of ice, which reach a tipping point and continue to melt even if the temperature does not continue to rise.
Scientists used the Parallel Ice Sheet Model to predict the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf’s future behavior.