# Taylor, ‘Polar Change’, 2021 > [!cite] > Taylor, Anya, dir. *The Poles Revealed*. Episode 2, ‘Polar Change’. ABC iview, 20 February 2025. 57 minutes. [https://iview.abc.net.au/show/poles-revealed/series/0/video/DO2014H003S00](https://iview.abc.net.au/show/poles-revealed/series/0/video/DO2014H003S00). > [!abstract] > How is climate change affecting the Arctic and Antarctic and what does it mean for the world beyond? --- ‘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.’ [[Taylor, ‘Polar Change’, 2021|(Taylor 2025, n.p.; quoting Steve Rintoul)]] ^ed5044 ‘So the fate of Antarctica, of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, to a large extent, depends on what happens in the surrounding oceans.’ [[Taylor, ‘Polar Change’, 2021|(Taylor 2025, n.p.; quoting Steve Rintoul)]] ^829dff ‘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.’ [[Taylor, ‘Polar Change’, 2021|(Taylor 2025, n.p.)]] ^e3f6a7 ![[ABC iView - 'Poles Revealed', Episode 2, 30m38s.png]]![[ABC iView - 'Poles Revealed', Episode 2, 30m41s.png]]![[ABC iView - 'Poles Revealed', Episode 2, 31m00s.png]]^b4f194 ’Many scientists believe the melt has now passed key tipping points.’ [[Taylor, ‘Polar Change’, 2021|(Taylor 2025, n.p.)]] ^7f940f ‘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.’ [[Taylor, ‘Polar Change’, 2021|(Taylor 2025, n.p.)]] ^42d8b3 ‘Because ice shelves are already floating, they can’t affect sea level rise when they melt. But the big concern is what happens to the ice resting on the continent behind. Ice shelves play a critical role in holding back the large glaciers and slowing them down as they move toward the sea. Take an ice shelf like Larsen B away and the glaciers behind speed up, sliding into the sea much faster. This DOES affect sea level rise.’ [[Taylor, ‘Polar Change’, 2021|(Taylor 2025, n.p.)]]