Harris et al. (2026) Weather News

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Weather
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-01
• Authors: Dan Harris, Zoe Hutin
• DOI: 10.1002/wea.70026

Research Groups

• Ochwat et al. (2025) - primary authors of the new research.
• Swansea University (mentioned as a source for the research).

Short Summary

New research reveals the Hektoria Glacier on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula experienced a record-fast retreat of 25 km in 14 months (January 2022 – March 2023), driven primarily by rapid ice-plain calving due to its underlying bed shape, rather than atmospheric or oceanic conditions.

Objective

• To identify the primary drivers behind the rapid retreat of the Hektoria Glacier.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Hektoria Glacier, eastern Antarctic Peninsula, British Antarctic Territory (area approximately 298 km²).
• Temporal Scale: Glacier retreat observed between January 2022 and March 2023 (14 months). Research published in November 2025.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not explicitly stated. The research focuses on observational analysis of physical processes.
• Data sources:
  • Observational records of glacier retreat (e.g., satellite imagery, ground measurements).
  • Seismic tremors recorded during the collapse event.
  • Analysis of the glacier's underlying bedrock topography (ice-plain geometry).

Main Results

• The Hektoria Glacier retreated by 25 km between January 2022 and March 2023, including a rapid loss of 8 km in just two months, marking one of the fastest observed glacier retreats on record.
• The primary driver for this retreat was rapid ice-plain calving, a destabilization and collapse mechanism triggered by the glacier's underlying bed shape.
• This finding contradicts previous assumptions that atmospheric or oceanic conditions were the main drivers.
• Seismic tremors confirmed that the glacier was grounded, indicating a loss of land ice rather than merely floating ice disintegration.
• The resulting freshwater influx into the Southern Ocean could disrupt local salinity and mixing, potentially allowing warmer deep water to reach remaining ice and accelerate further melt.

Contributions

• Provides a novel understanding of the Hektoria Glacier's rapid retreat, attributing it to ice-plain calving driven by bed shape, thereby challenging prior hypotheses focused on atmospheric/oceanic factors.
• Highlights the critical role of subglacial topography in glacier stability and retreat dynamics, particularly for glaciers with vulnerable ice-plain geometries.
• Emphasizes the potential for significant future implications for global sea-level rise, ocean currents, and climate feedbacks from similar collapses of larger glaciers.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Harris2026Weather,
  author = {Harris, Dan and Hutin, Zoe},
  title = {Weather News},
  journal = {Weather},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1002/wea.70026},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.70026}
}