evidence: It’s known that Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW), a water mass that is up to 4°C above local freezing temperatures, is flowing beneath the ice shelves in West Antarctica and melting them from below. Since so much of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet lies below sea level, it is particularly vulnerable to this warm water intrusion and may further retreat in the future. [...] "This cycle could speed up the melting of ice shelves, potentially making the West Antarctic Ice Sheet less stable in the future." [...] Dr Alessandro Silvano from the University of Southampton, a coauthor on the study, said: "These simulations reveal that this deep current conveying warm waters toward the ice shelves is driven by the very same ice shelf melting that such warm waters cause."