Near Antarctica, Saltier Seas Mean Less Ice, Study Finds

Some of the water around Antarctica has been getting saltier. And that has affected the amount of sea ice at the bottom of the planet. From a report: A study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that increases in salinity in seawater near the surface could help explain some of the decrease in Antarctic sea ice that have been observed over the past decade, reversing a previous period of growth.

'The impact of Antarctic ice is massive in terms of sea-level rise, in terms of global warming, and therefore, in terms of extremes,' said Alessandro Silvano, a senior scientist at the University of Southampton studying the Southern Ocean and lead author of the study. The findings mean 'we are entering a new system, a new world,' he said. The Times adds: 'the Department of Defense announced it would be no longer be providing some of the satellite data that researchers use to monitor changes in sea ice.'

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