Antarctica’s Ice Melt Mystery: Submarine Ran Returns with Data That Upends Climate Models

An autonomous submarine named Ran vanished under Antarctica’s Dotson Ice Shelf in January 2024 after 14 successful missions mapping about 130 square kilometers; though lost, the data it collected revealed unexpected ice–ocean features and erosion patterns that challenge current melt models, with the western part melting faster due to turbulent waters. Researchers at ITGC plan to replace Ran with Ran II to continue the mission, and the findings were published in Science Advances, potentially reshaping predictions of sea‑level rise.