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Rapid melting of Antarctic sea ice largely driven by ocean warming
https://www.gu.se/en/news/rapid-melting-of-antarctic-sea-ice-largely-driven-by-ocean-warmingPublished 18 March 2026
Sea ice around Antarctica expanded for several decades until a dramatic decline in 2015. The reasons behind this are revealed by research from the University of Gothenburg.
Antarctic sea ice plays a crucial role in the ecosystem and physical environment of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Since the ice reflects the sun's rays and blocks heat exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, it is critical to our weather and climate. Therefore, we need to understand what affects its extent to improve future climate models and prediction.
While Arctic sea ice has been steadily declining since satellite measurements of sea ice began, Antarctic sea ice has exhibited a completely different behaviour. After expanding slowly for several decades, Antarctic sea ice declined rapidly in late 2015 and has since experienced large year-to-year fluctuations in extent. Research on this change, led by the University of Gothenburg, is now published in Nature Climate Change.
Protective layer
“There was a protective layer of cold water beneath the sea ice in Antarctica that prevented warmer deep water from rising and melting the ice from below. But during the winter of 2015, storms in the Southern Ocean were unusually strong, reducing the cold-water protective layer effect and resulting in the sustained sea ice loss around Antarctica,” says Theo Spira, former doctoral student in oceanography at the University of Gothenburg and first author to the study.
…
Spira, T., du Plessis, M., Haumann, F.A. et al. Wind-triggered Antarctic sea-ice decline preconditioned by thinning Winter Water. Nat. Clim. Chang. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-026-02601-4Sea ice around Antarctica expanded for several decades until a dramatic decline in 2015. The reasons behind this are revealed by research from the University of Gothenburg.
Antarctic sea ice plays a crucial role in the ecosystem and physical environment of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Since the ice reflects the sun's rays and blocks heat exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, it is critical to our weather and climate. Therefore, we need to understand what affects its extent to improve future climate models and prediction.
While Arctic sea ice has been steadily declining since satellite measurements of sea ice began, Antarctic sea ice has exhibited a completely different behaviour. After expanding slowly for several decades, Antarctic sea ice declined rapidly in late 2015 and has since experienced large year-to-year fluctuations in extent. Research on this change, led by the University of Gothenburg, is now published in Nature Climate Change.
Protective layer
“There was a protective layer of cold water beneath the sea ice in Antarctica that prevented warmer deep water from rising and melting the ice from below. But during the winter of 2015, storms in the Southern Ocean were unusually strong, reducing the cold-water protective layer effect and resulting in the sustained sea ice loss around Antarctica,” says Theo Spira, former doctoral student in oceanography at the University of Gothenburg and first author to the study.
…