Overview

• An international team led by the Australian National University synthesizes evidence of shrinking sea ice, fragile ice shelves, and a slowdown in Southern Ocean overturning.
• Authors describe feedback loops linking ice loss, ocean changes, and ecosystem disruption that could amplify impacts and make them harder to reverse.
• Sustained loss of vulnerable sectors of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could raise global sea levels by more than three meters.
• Ecological warning signs include risks to emperor penguins, krill, and phytoplankton as warming and acidification intensify.
• The study urges governments to fold these findings into adaptation plans, noting current Antarctic Treaty protections do not address climate-driven changes.