Oregon State University research has unveiled a potential reason behind the rapid retreat of sea-terminating glaciers: the bursting of minuscule, pressurized bubbles in submerged ice. This groundbreaking study, recently published in Nature Geoscience, highlights that glacier ice, laden with pockets of pressurized air, melts significantly faster than bubble-free sea ice. Tidewater glaciers worldwide, notably in Greenland and the Antarctic Peninsula, are receding at alarming rates, leading to substantial ice mass loss. Meagan Wengrove, the study’s lead and an assistant professor at OSU, remarked, “We’ve long known that glacier ice is riddled with bubbles.” The revelation came when the team delved … Continue reading Tiny Bubbles, Titanic Impact: How Air Pockets Accelerate Glacier Melt!