Discovery and Implications
Researchers uncovered large, comb-like grooves on the North Sea seabed, caused by giant tabular icebergs drifting past the UK about 18,000 to 20,000 years ago during the last ice age.
This finding suggests that the British and Irish ice sheet had ice shelves, similar to Antarctica, indicating potential parallels in iceberg calving patterns and ice shelf stability.
Climate Change Insights
The study, published in Nature Communications, provides historical context on how climate change led to the disintegration of ice shelves, shifting from large to smaller icebergs.
Scientists caution that understanding past iceberg dynamics could offer valuable insights into the future of Antarctica's ice under current global warming trends.