Melting South Pole crucial for Dutch sea level: these researchers measure the impact

To quickly gain more clarity on how quickly this can happen, Dutch scientists are first testing measuring equipment in the Swiss mountains. This equipment will then be shipped to Antarctica, the continent surrounding Earth's South Pole.

Last week, the scientists retrieved their measuring instruments from the Alps. They were located atop a mountain near Davos, Switzerland, Europe's highest city. RTL Nieuws accompanied them.

The ice in the Alps, both in the form of snow and glaciers, is melting rapidly, especially with higher summer temperatures. Sensors are used to precisely measure the amount of meltwater generated by all that solar radiation. A key question is how much water flows away, says researcher Maurice van Tiggelen. And how much of that water remains in the same place and refreezes.

This knowledge is crucial for research in Antarctica. "It's still difficult for us scientists to know how much meltwater is in snow, and what happens to it. If it drains away, it has a significant impact on sea level rise. Otherwise, if it refreezes, it stays on the ice sheet."

In this video you see the Utrecht scientists on top of the mountain near Davos:

The scientists set up their equipment in the Swiss mountains in February, when there was still 1.5 meters of snow. All the snow has since disappeared. It's warm in Davos when the researchers arrive, around twenty degrees Celsius, about six degrees warmer than average.

The latter also applies to the summit of the nearby Weissfluhjoch mountain, approximately 2,660 meters high. The measuring instruments are located just below the summit, where no official road leads. A four-wheel-drive vehicle takes the scientists to the top. Once there, they are relieved by what they see.

"We've now found the setup exactly as we left it. So I'm very pleased. It seems to have worked well." This equipment will be shipped to Antarctica later this year for further scientific research.

The Utrecht researchers aren't the only Dutch researchers traveling to the South Pole. It's becoming increasingly clear that our country needs to quickly gain more insight into how quickly the ice cap there is shrinking, especially now that the ice there is melting at an accelerating pace.

But estimates of how quickly sea levels will rise this century vary considerably, from a few decimeters to about a meter. And if things go wrong, it could rise even more.

It's known that if all the ice in Antarctica were to melt, global sea levels would rise by nearly 60 meters. This would take thousands of years, but it does indicate how much ice is stored there.

Future sea level rise depends heavily on how much CO2 and other greenhouse gases humans continue to emit. In other words, how much coal, oil, and gas humanity continues to burn. Around 2100, the rise will be 26 to 73 centimeters in the "low emissions scenario," and 59 to 124 centimeters in the "high emissions scenario."

But it could also be even higher. "The upper limit of sea level rise around 2100 could increase by up to 2.5 meters if uncertain processes, such as the instability of the Antarctic ice sheet, already occur before 2100."

(Source: KNMI)

The Utrecht researchers are going to Antarctica to the so-called Larsen C Ice Shelf. Such ice shelves play a crucial role. They are floating masses of ice that hold the land ice of glaciers in place, acting as a kind of cork or plug.

As seawater slowly warms, the ice shelves are also melting from below. There are fears that once the shelves disappear, glaciers will flow more rapidly into the sea.

That's partly why, according to Van Tiggelen, it's important to know how much meltwater there is in Antarctica. "If there's too much meltwater on an ice shelf," he explains, "it can penetrate right through, and the entire ice shelf breaks off at once. The amount of meltwater is therefore an indicator of the shelf's potential for collapse."

Fellow researcher Tesse van den Aker explains how snow acts like a sponge. "A layer of snow protects the ice beneath it and can absorb meltwater." Such a layer can contain dry snow, but it can also be completely saturated with meltwater. "More knowledge about this is important for making future projections."

At the foot of the mountain, in Davos, the SLF scientific institute also conducts ice research. Dutch scientist Nander Wever is affiliated with this institute. He himself conducted research in Antarctica a few years ago, sleeping in a tent there.

Wever also emphasizes that melting at the South Pole is directly relevant to future sea level rise. "So it makes perfect sense that the Netherlands is conducting a lot of research on Antarctica," he says.

In a special, freezing room at the institute, where the temperature is far below zero, snow from Antarctica is even stored for scientific purposes. "We, from Switzerland, are happy to contribute to this international research. And we also learn from it ourselves, seeing how snow behaves under extreme conditions."