Enormous lake in Antarctica disappeared in 3 days, scientists warn 'it could happen again'

In a shocking event for the scientific community, a massive ice lake in Antarctica melted in just three days, raising alarming concerns. It is estimated that the ice lake was around 24 billion cubic feet (600 million to 750 million cubic meters) of water -  roughly enough to flood ten cities. According to a report published in Live Science, the disappearing event occurred during the 2019 winter on the Amery Ice Shelf in East Antarctica.

According to a paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the lead author from the University of Tasmania, Roland Warner said, “We believe the weight of water accumulated in this deep lake opened a fissure in the ice shelf beneath the lake, a process known as hydrofracture, causing the water to drain away to the ocean below". He further added, "that once the water was released, the flow into the ocean beneath would have been like the flow over Niagara Falls, so it would have been an impressive sight".

Researchers' observation

The researchers used the high-resolution satellite to observe the act, they revealed that the shocking event happened three days after the ice lake suffered a gigantic crack. Using NASA's ICESat-2, a laser instrument that detects individual photons reflected from the ice surface to make high-resolution elevation measurements. The researchers used surface elevation maps generated by the Polar Geospatial Center, which opened up a new possibility to explore the full extent of the changes, stretching across 60 square kilometres.

Due to global warming, many Antarctic ice shelves have experienced greater surface melting in the last 50 years, and the most recent projections of the consequences of future warming for Antarctica show that trend continuing and creating more melted ice-lakes.

“Antarctic surface melting has been projected to double by 2050, raising concerns about the stability of other ice shelves," the team wrote in their study, which was published on June 23 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

“Processes such as hydrofracture and flexure remain understudied and ice-sheet models do not yet include realistic treatment of these processes," they further added. 

What is Hydrofracturing

Hydrofracturing, also known as fracking, occurs when water — which is denser and therefore heavier than ice — rips open gigantic cracks in ice sheets — and then drains into the sea. This leaves behind a gigantic fissure that compromises the structural integrity of the sheet.