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(CNN) – Scientists now have a better idea of why giant holes have opened up in the Antarctic ice. They were helped by unique partners in the field.
In 2016 and 2017, a free water hole, called polynya, appeared in the winter ice of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. He finally reached about 19,000 square miles; about twice the size of Vermont. Although polynyas are not unusual, this large and frequent hole was an excellent opportunity for scientists to understand why precisely these holes appeared. A team from the University of Washington explored the hole with a combination of robots, radio equipment and seals with antennas glued to the head. Their discoveries were recently published in the journal "Nature".
"We thought that this big hole in the pack ice – known as the polynya – was something rare, maybe a process that had gone extinct, but the events of 2016 and 2017 forced us to reevaluate that. phenomenon, "wrote lead author Ethan Campbell. said in a statement. "The observations show that recent polynyas are due to a combination of factors: unusual ocean conditions and very intense storms that swept the Weddell Sea with winds of almost hurricane force."
The team found that for a polynya to occur, there had to be a perfect storm of factors, so to speak. In the region where the giant polynya is open, there is an underwater mountain that, in case of strong storms, causes a whirlwind of seawater, causing a rise in water more salty of the deepest parts of the ocean. Once this water is cool, it falls to the bottom and the ice can not reform.
In the case of elephant seals, the team used them to transmit the data to the shore as they swam in the depths of the polynya. Historically, seals have been a major asset for scientific research. On the one hand, their movements help researchers to have a good idea of a particular environment or area. In addition, they are apparently not too bothered by having radio equipment stuck (safely) to the head.
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