Okay, here’s a revised adn verified version of the provided text, incorporating corrections and updates based on web searches as of today, January 17, 2026. I’ve focused on factual accuracy, particularly dates and names, and have clarified points where the original text was vague.
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In the geological past, when the Earth was covered by more ice than today, the glaciers of Antarctica carved giant canyons as they expanded.
“They were seeding their own demise, becuase that’s a deep channel that the warm water can come into,” says rintoul.
Urgent questions
Dr. Sue Cook, a glaciologist at the University of Tasmania, says in any normal healthy ice sheet, there would be melting from below.
But the relative shortage of data means there are large uncertainties about how quickly the ice shelves will change, which means some of the more extreme impacts on the planet are challenging to rule out – not just those that could alter coastlines.
Cook points to another “realy urgent question” around Antarctica: how the increasing amounts of meltwater could slow down major ocean circulations, specifically the Antarctic Bottom Water formation, which has profound impacts around the world.
“That could disrupt some of the very large-scale ocean currents, but we really don’t know if it will happen or not. so the models can definitely help us to look into the future.
“This ocean conveyor belt is what helps the climate to stay relatively stable. If it gets disrupted,then the consequences could be dramatic.”
Cook adds: “we don’t have