Antarctic meteorites are disappearing at 'alarming rate', new research finds

Researchers from ETH Zurich and Université Libre de Bruxelles in Nature Climate Change say a quarter of the estimated 300,000 to 800,000 meteorites in Antarctica will be lost due to glacial melt by 2050, and potentially over three-quarters of the meteorites could be lost by the end of the century. File picture

Antarctic meteorites are disappearing at “an alarming rate” due to climate change, a new study has found, putting at risk “some of the secrets of the universe.”

The continent of Antarctica contains a large concentration of meteorites, which provide invaluable information on the solar system. Now, researchers using artificial intelligence, satellite observations, and climate model projections, found that one tenth of a degree increase in global air temperatures leads to nearly 9,000 meteorites disappearing from the surface of the ice sheet on average.