Research on the formation of ice sheets in Antarctica give scientists some clues about how global warming will change the earth’s climate.

Research on the formation of ice sheets in Antarctica give scientists some clues about how global warming will change the earth’s climate.
Photo Credit: Galen Halverson

Antarctica ice research suggests climate change will be complex

It is a mystery how the ice sheets of Antarctica formed so fast some 34 million years ago. There are two competing theories about how it happened. But scientists at McGill University’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences have found the two theories may be linked.

While the explanation is complex, it does suggest that the effects of climate change to come will be complex. Prof. Galen Halverson explains that some places will get warmer and others will get colder.

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Icebergs and sea ice where the part of the Larsen-B Ice Shelf had recently collapsed. Exasperation Inlet, Antarctic Peninsula.
Icebergs and sea ice where the part of the Larsen-B Ice Shelf had recently collapsed. Exasperation Inlet, Antarctic Peninsula. © Galen Halverson
Track of the vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer in the Weddell Sea, with the remnants of the Larsen-B Ice Shelf and Antarctic Peninsula in the background.
Track of the vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer in the Weddell Sea, with the remnants of the Larsen-B Ice Shelf and Antarctic Peninsula in the background. © Galen Halverson
Edge of the Larsen-B Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula, which is experiencing some of the most extreme warming on Earth.
Edge of the Larsen-B Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula, which is experiencing some of the most extreme warming on Earth. © Galen Halverson
Prof. Galen Halverson studies ancient ice formation.
Prof. Galen Halverson studies ancient ice formation.
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