Rob DeConto Quoted in 'New York Times' Article on ‘Worst-Case’ Scenario for Antarctic Ice

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For nearly a decade, climate scientists have grappled with a catastrophic scenario involving the potential disintegration of West Antarctica's massive ice sheet, which could spell disaster for global coastlines. 

The scenario unfolds as follows: once the floating edges of the ice sheet melt sufficiently, sheer ice cliffs are left exposed to the sea. These cliffs then become unstable. Large sections of ice begin to break away, revealing even taller and more precarious cliffs. This process accelerates, leading to a rapid, runaway collapse.

In a recent New York Times article that considers such a collapse, Rob DeConto, provost professor of the College of Natural Sciences's Department of Earth, Geographic and Climate Sciences, was asked to weigh in on the likeliness of a "worst-case" scenario. DeConto argues that "scientists need to keep finding ways to ground their models in observations from the real world."

"How strong or weak is West Antarctica’s ice by the time it flows from the continent’s interior to the ocean? How much damage does it sustain along the way? How much liquid water does it hold? How does that affect the way it breaks? 'Those are all things that we need a better understanding of,' said Dr. DeConto, who was among the researchers who first proposed that ice-cliff instability could spell ruin for West Antarctica.

— The New York Times

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