"Antarctica is the largest reservoir of ice on Earth. Understanding its ice sheet dynamics is crucial to unraveling past global climate change and making robust climatic and sea level predictions. Of the basic parameters that shape and control ice flow, the most poorly known is geothermal heat flux. Direct observations of heat flux are difficult to obtain in Antarctica, and until now continent-wide heat flux maps have only been derived from low-resolution satellite magnetic and seismological data. We present a high resolution heat flux map and associated uncertainty derived from spectral analysis of the most advanced continental compilation of airborne magnetic data. Small-scale spatial variability and features consistent with known geology are better reproduced than in previous models, between 36% and 50%. Our high-resolution heat-flux map and its uncertainty distribution provide an important new boundary condition to be used in studies on future subglacial hydrology, ice-sheet dynamics and sea-level change."
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017GL075609/abstract"This is the best map yet produced of the warmth coming up from the rocks underneath the Antarctic ice sheet.
This "geothermal heat flux" is key data required by scientists in order to model how the White Continent is going to react to climate change.
If the rock bed's temperature is raised, it makes it easier for the ice above to move.
And if global warming is already forcing change on the ice sheet, a higher flux could accelerate matters.
The map was made by researchers at the British Antarctic survey and is published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
"The heat coming from the Earth’s interior is important to understand the overall conditions that control the dynamics at the base of the ice sheet and hence the ice flow,” explained Yasmina Martos, currently affiliated to the US space agency.
"If this heat flux is elevated, the ice base can melt and produce water that acts as a sliding film.
"One result of our study is that the heat flux is higher underneath West Antarctica, where more ice is currently melting, than underneath East Antarctica.
"Even a little melting at the base helps the ice sheet to slide faster. We also identified areas of low heat flux, which will help stabilising the ice sheet," she told BBC News. "
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41972297Those pesky volcanoes.