East Antarctica - 55 Melt Lakes Confirmed Just Below Surface Of Ice Sheet Once Thought Solid
A new study has shown that an East Antarctica ice shelf, once thought to be completely solid, is actually home to 55 liquid lakes.
By drilling through the surface of the Roi Baudouin ice shelf, researchers found that several of these lakes were “englacial,” or completely enclosed by ice. In a study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, they suggested that uncharacteristic melt could compromise the structural integrity of glaciers in the region. “Many people refer to East Antarctica as being too cold for significant melt,” Jan Lenaerts, a glaciologist with Utrecht University, told the Washington Post. “I mean there’s marginal melt in summer, but there’s not a lot.”
Researchers say these englacial lakes may have been caused by a microclimat” on the ice sheet itself. In East Antarctica, strong “katabatic” winds blow from high peaks down toward the sea. These winds bring warm air and clear snow from the glacial surface, revealing vast stretches of blue ice.
This blue ice has a lower reflectivity than the white snow, increasing the amount of sunlight absorbed at the surface. This, coupled with bursts of warm air, might drive unusual amounts of ice melt in the region. Surface lakes might freeze over in colder months, but not all the way through.
EDIT
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/1213/Hidden-lakes-in-glaciers-point-to-further-Antarctic-melting