'Completely unexpected': Antarctic sea ice may be in terminal decline due to rising Southern Ocean salinity
https://phys.org/news/2025-07-unexpected-antarctic-sea-ice-terminal.htmlOpen linkView original on lemmy.worldhttps://phys.org/news/2025-07-unexpected-antarctic-sea-ice-terminal.htmlOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
Just came back from a climate science conference in Aus. The sea-ice people were not optimistic.
Probably all pissed off about the penguin tariffs.
People who study sea ice. But yeah, things aren't looking good for penguins.
@cm0002
> The loss of Antarctic sea ice has global consequences. Less sea ice means less habitat for penguins and other ice-dwelling species
Humans again with mass extinction soon, thanks to climate change deniers
Completely expected. Climate scientists have been giving out warnings for decades.
@CatherineLily @cm0002 not completely expected, headlines tend to crop most attention eye catcher line from the article which in context would have a different answer to that to whats put in the headline. per the headline its not completedly unexpected but per the details in context it totally is
@CatherineLily @cm0002 here whats expected [1/3]
> The ocean around Antarctica is rapidly getting saltier at the same time as sea ice is retreating at a record pace. Since 2015, the frozen continent has lost sea ice similar to the size of Greenland. That ice hasn't returned, marking the largest global environmental change during the past decade.
@CatherineLily @cm0002 [2/3]
> This finding caught us off guard—melting ice typically makes the ocean fresher. But new satellite data shows the opposite is happening, and that's a big problem. Saltier water at the ocean surface behaves differently than fresher seawater by drawing up heat from the deep ocean and making it harder for sea ice to regrow.
@CatherineLily @cm0002 [3/3]
> What we found was astonishing. Around 2015, surface salinity in the Southern Ocean began rising sharply—just as sea ice extent started to crash. This reversal was completely unexpected. For decades, the surface had been getting fresher and colder, helping sea ice expand.
Ugh, more doom and gloom...
Look on the bright side. I might be able to have a seaside retirement home without even having to move house!