Antarctic meteorites threatened by climate warming
Veronica Tollenaar (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Harry Zekollari (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, ETH Zürich, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL)
Christoph Kittel (Université Grenoble Alpes, Université de Liège)
D. Farinotti (ETH Zürich, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL)
Stef Lhermitte (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, TU Delft - Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning)
Vinciane Debaille (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Steven Goderis (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Philippe Claeys (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Katherine Helen Joy (The University of Manchester)
Frank Pattyn (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
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Abstract
More than 60% of meteorite finds on Earth originate from Antarctica. Using a data-driven analysis that identifies meteorite-rich sites in Antarctica, we show climate warming causes many extraterrestrial rocks to be lost from the surface by melting into the ice sheet. At present, approximately 5,000 meteorites become inaccessible per year (versus ~1,000 finds per year) and, independent of the emissions scenario, ~24% will be lost by 2050, potentially rising to ∼76% by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario.
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