Scientists Report Large-Scale Surface Melting Event in Antarctica during 2015-16 El Niño
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, a landbound mass of ice larger than Mexico, experienced substantial surface melt through the austral summer of 2015-2016 during one of the largest El Niño events of the past 50 years. The finding is of interest, because El Niño events are expected to become more common if planetary warming trends continue.