December 28, 2025 | 07:12 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A sophisticated unmanned submarine belonging to the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, transmitted valuable data to its operator before disappearing in Antarctic waters. The submarine, named Ran, was sent to map the Dotson Ice Shelf in West Antarctica and analyze the melting process of glaciers amid the global climate crisis.
The Ran's navigation system and batteries, which cost millions of US dollars to develop, are thought to be affected by the extreme cold environment in Antarctica. Before disappearing beneath the thick ice sheet, the submarine transmitted valuable data vital for solving the puzzle of global warming in the South Pole. Some of the data returned included an icy landscape filled with peaks and valleys, as well as large basin formations resembling teardrop shapes.
Citing the Earth magazine on December 25, 2025, a team of researchers from the University of Gothenburg obtained high-resolution maps before the Ran lost contact. Mission leader Anna Wahlin, a professor of oceanography, said the team suspected the strange patterns were formed not by temperature, but by water movement influenced by Earth's rotation.
In this study, Anna said, water moving across the ice base creates complex turbulence that erodes the ice in a much more dynamic way than current models. Previous researchers had only used satellite and ice core data to observe glacier changes. "But by navigating a submarine into the cavity, we were able to obtain a different analysis of the underside of the ice," Anna said.
Information about the Dotson Ice Sheet and its surrounding glaciers, which are part of the Thwaites Glacier, is crucial because they have recently contributed to global sea level rise. Climate prediction models have often oversimplified the process of ice melting beneath the sea surface.
The new data show that the melting mechanism is much more complex, where interactions between ocean currents, ice rifting, and Earth's rotation accelerate erosion at specific points. Given these findings, current sea level rise predictions may not fully accurately reflect the rate of disintegration of the Antarctic ice sheet.
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