[ **up: [[Antarctica]] | [[Climate change]]** ] --- # Grounding line retreat - *See also*: [[Grounding line|Grounding line]] --- > The location of the grounding line is important, because mass loss from Antarctica is strongly linked to changes in the ice shelves and their grounding lines. Change in the grounding line can result in very rapid changes in glacier and ice-shelf behaviour.[^1] --- [[2025-0221. '... much of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet sits on bedrock that’s below sea level, making it highly vulnerable to warmer waters.'|The big problem is that much of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet sits on bedrock that’s below sea level, making it highly vulnerable to warmer waters.]][^2] [[2025-0221. '... the fate of Antarctica, of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, to a large extent, depends on what happens in the surrounding oceans.'|'... the fate of Antarctica, of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, to a large extent, depends on what happens in the surrounding oceans.']][^3] [[2025-0221. 'The oceans as a whole have taken up more than 90% of the extra energy that’s been stored by the planet over the last 50 years. And where that heat gets into the oceans is mostly in the Southern Ocean.'|’The oceans as a whole have taken up more than 90% of the extra energy that’s been stored by the planet over the last 50 years. And where that heat gets into the oceans is mostly in the Southern Ocean.’]][^4] [[2025-0221. ' Below the major ice shelves of the west, warmer waters have begun eating away at the ice from below ... the line where the glacier transitions from grounded ice to floated ice is pushed further and further back.'|’Below the major ice shelves of the west, warmer waters have begun eating away at the ice from below. As the ice shelf retreats, the line where the glacier transitions from grounded ice to floating ice is pushed further and further back, allowing water to creep in under the glacier.’]][^5] ![[ABC ivew - 'The Poles Revealed', Episode 2, 30m38s (Screencap).png]] ![[ABC ivew - 'The Poles Revealed', Episode 2, 30m41s (Screencap).png]] ![[ABC ivew - 'The Poles Revealed', Episode 2, 31m00s (Screencap).png]] [^2] [[2025-0221. 'Many scientists believe the melt (re. Antarctica's grounding lines) has now passed key tipping points.'|’Many scientists believe the melt has now passed key tipping points.’]][^6] [^1]: Bethan Davies, ‘Grounding Lines’, *AntarticGlaciers.org*, updated 7 February 2022, https://www.antarcticglaciers.org/glacier-processes/grounding-lines/. [^2]: Anja Taylor (dir.), *The Poles Revealed*, Season 1, Episode 2, 2021; retrieved 20 February 2025 (ABC iView), https://iview.abc.net.au/video/DO2014H002S00. [^3]: Steve Rintoul, in Anja Taylor (dir.), *The Poles Revealed*, Season 1, Episode 2, 2021; retrieved 20 February 2025 (ABC iView), https://iview.abc.net.au/video/DO2014H002S00. [^4]: Steve Rintoul, in Anja Taylor (dir.), *The Poles Revealed*, Season 1, Episode 2, 2021; retrieved 20 February 2025 (ABC iView), https://iview.abc.net.au/video/DO2014H002S00. [^5]: Anja Taylor (dir.), *The Poles Revealed*, Season 1, Episode 2, 2021; retrieved 20 February 2025 (ABC iView), https://iview.abc.net.au/video/DO2014H002S00. [^6]: Anja Taylor (dir.), *The Poles Revealed*, Season 1, Episode 2, 2021; retrieved 20 February 2025 (ABC iView), https://iview.abc.net.au/video/DO2014H002S00.