“This new research–which is the first to map the actual change in ice speed–deviates from the previous interpretation, because the glacier speedup is in fact far too small. We looked at water temperatures in front of the glaciers which have sped up the most, and we found that they flow through deep bedrock channels into the warmest layer of the ocean. This circumpolar deep water, which is relatively warm and salty compared to other parts of the Southern Ocean, has warmed and shoaled in recent decades, and can melt ice at the base of glaciers which reduces friction and allows them to flow more freely.”

　　“新的研究——这是首次绘制冰速度的实际变化——与以前的解释偏离，因为事实上冰川的加速很小。我们考察了加速最快冰川前面水温度，发现这些水穿过深层基岩渠道流入海洋最暖层。这样的环极深层水，相对南大洋其他部分相对暖和咸，最近几十年里变暖和变浅，可以在冰川底部融化冰，减少摩擦和让冰川更自由地流动。”

　 　——人类利用卫星雷达对极地冰川进行监测已经有超过20年的历史，这些卫星雷达的例子，包括欧空局的Envisat卫星以及哥白尼项目中的Sentinel-1号卫星等。来自英国极地观测和模拟中心的学者利用24年连续的卫星雷达极地冰川监测资料，对南极半岛西南部30个冰川冰减少加速情况开展研究，研究成果发表在GRL上，文章的主要作者Anna Hogg描述了其团队开展研究的情况。