A new study published in Nature Communications revealed that the interplay between meandering ocean currents and the ocean floor induces rising velocity and transports warm water to shallower depths. This mechanism is a major contributor to the melting of ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea in West Antarctica. These ice shelves are rapidly destabilizing and contributing to sea level rise. An international team of researchers from the Korea Polar Research Institute, Hokkaido University, and Seoul National University, led by Taewook Park and Yoshihiro Nakayama, used advanced ocean modeling techniques to investigate the underlying forces behind the rapidly melting ice shelves. (Hokkaido University, more at phys.org)