An ice shield has been discovered that can withstand the Earth's current boiling temperatures. Find out its location and see the photos.

Recently, an increasing number of scientific studies have focused on the consequences of the climate crisis on Earth, driven by human activity. Statistics from recent decades indicate that the planet is relentlessly heating up, resulting in extraordinary heatwaves and droughts, while glacial melt could lead to unprecedented rises in ocean levels, reports PHYS.org.

In a new study, an international team of ecological scientists analyzed ice core samples taken from a site near the edge of the ice shelf and found evidence that the Ronne Ice Shelf in West Antarctica did not actually disappear during the last interglacial period. The authors of the study believe that it is likely to survive the current climate change as well.

The Ronne Ice Shelf captivates scientists with its massive size. Previous studies have already shown that if it were to break away from the ice cap and melt, it would result in a global sea level rise of 2 meters. This is more than enough to inundate several coastal megacities around the world.

In the new research, scientists drilled and extracted an ice core down to the bedrock level at the Skytree glacier uplift near the edge of the Ronne Ice Shelf, at a depth of 651 meters. The team hypothesized that if the ice shelf had melted during the last time the planet faced high temperatures, there would be a significantly higher concentration of sea salt near its edges, as it extends over water.

However, the results did not reveal a higher concentration of salt—the data were consistent with other parts of the shelf. This indicates that the ice shelf has not actually experienced significant melting, if any at all.

The team also checked for isotopes that carry evidence of weather phenomena in the ice and found no evidence that the shelf underwent significant melting. Scientists now believe that the Ronne Ice Shelf is unlikely to melt under current conditions and even more so when the entire planet warms further.

Nonetheless, researchers also discovered that some conditions today differ from those observed during the last global warming event—the ocean temperatures are significantly higher. In simple terms, the ice shelf faces an additional threat—it may begin to melt from below the surface, which, combined with the elevated temperatures above, could lead to a different outcome.