Giant Icebergs and the Future of the Antarctic Ice Sheet

Presented by Dr Sue Cook
Ice​ ​Shelf​ ​Glaciologist
Antarctic​ ​Climate​ ​&​ ​Ecosystems​ ​Cooperative​ ​Research​ ​Centre

Events​ ​such​ ​as​ ​the​ ​1​ ​trillion-tonne​ ​iceberg​ ​which​ ​recently​ ​broke​ ​away​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Larsen​ ​C​ ​Ice Shelf​ ​capture​ ​headlines​ ​around​ ​the​ ​world.​ ​But​ ​what​ ​can​ ​these​ ​icebergs​ ​really​ ​tell​ ​us​ ​about the​ ​future​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Antarctic​ ​Ice​ ​Sheet?​ ​This​ ​lecture​ ​examines​ ​what​ ​we​ ​know​ ​about​ ​how icebergs​ ​form,​ ​how​ ​they​ ​are​ ​affected​ ​by​ ​climate​ ​change,​ ​and​ ​the​ ​implications​ ​for​ ​Antarctica’s future​ ​contributions​ ​to​ ​sea​ ​level​ ​rise.
Image: Tanya Patrick