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Earth's ice is melting. As icebergs break away from glaciers and melt away, the fresh meltwater mixes into its saltwater surroundings. However, icebergs do not exist in isolation. In Greenland, for example, jammed collections of icebergs and sea ice make up what are known as mélanges. Determining how these pieces of ice are affected by the meltwater of their neighbors is key to understanding—and eventually reducing—global ice loss.

In Physics of Fluids, Kari Perry and Sarah Morris, from Montana State University, used pairs of ice cylinders to study how the meltwater from one ice structure alters the melting of another.

" Meltwater from icebergs can do things like transport fresh water to other areas of the ocean; it can redistribute heat, salt, and nutrients," said Morris.…