NASA satellite data uncovers 14 shifting water zones beneath West Antarctica, one lake lost 2 km³ in three years

Using NASA’s ICESat laser altimeter, researchers tracked subtle height changes across West Antarctica from 2003 to 2006 and pinpointed fourteen locations where the ice surface either rose or fell, evidence of active subglacial lakes. Geophysicist Helen Amanda Fricker observed a striking 9-metre depression near the Whillans and Mercer Ice Streams, which was later attributed to the emptying of a hidden basin named Subglacial Lake Engelhardt.

Over roughly three years, that lake released an estimated 2 cubic kilometres of water that ultimately flowed toward the sea. Simultaneously, other regions exhibited uplift, indicating water was refilling elsewhere beneath the ice sheet. These observations overturn the view of Antarctic sub-ice water as static, revealing a connected system that can modify basal friction and ice-stream speed.

Although the Whillans Ice Stream slowed during the study period, the broader implications for ice dynamics and sea-level rise remain a key research focus. The study, published in Science and highlighted by NASA’s Earth Observatory, underscores how satellite-based measurements can expose hidden processes in remote environments.