On May 5, the Polar research centre of Beijing Normal University was established; this centre initially released data on the Antarctic ice shelf collapse from 2005—2011, which provides the most accurate and detailed measurements for Antarctic ice shelf collapse so far. The results reveal the mechanism behind the Antarctic ice shelf shrinkage and collapse.

The result might help explain several difficult problems in polar and climate research: what is the relationship between the collapse of the Antarctic ice shelf and rising sea levels? Is the increase in Antarctic sea ice inevitably connected to the Antarctic ice shelf collapse? Although there are much higher levels of carbon emissions, global warming has stagnated since 1998. Does this have any relevance to the Antarctic ice shelf?

The “health” of the Antarctic ice shelf is closely related to the change in global sea levels

A scientific research team headed by professor Cheng Xiao, the director of the polar research centre of Beijing Normal University, has been carrying out satellite remote sensing observation research in the Antarctic for many years. It has found that at the same time as the big ice shelf has increased around the Antarctic continent, many smaller ice shelves have collapsed and become thinner. The finding means that ice shelf collapse is a vital factor in the material loss of ice shelf, a factor which has been neglected by the scientific community.

The “health” of the Antarctic ice shelf is closely linked to daily life and national economic development

At the moment, there is a lot of international research on ice shelf collapse. One very important direction is to explore the relationship between the Antarctic ice shelf collapse and the increase rather than a reduction of Antarctic sea ice.

The temperature should be rising steadily with ever greater emissions of greenhouse gases, so why has the temperature rise stagnated? One hypothesis is that the heat is being absorbed by the South Pole. The area of big ice shelf observed so far extends to more than 3,000 square kilometres, which equals the size of eight Haidian districts in Beijing. If this can be proved by scientific research, it will show that the earth has a strong self-regulating function, and that the temperature will not undergo a linear rise. It will also have a significant influence on the lifestyles and economic development of every country in the world.