Scientists using radar altimetry data from the CryoSat-2 satellite announced they have identified 85 new active subglacial lakes beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. These bodies of water lie between the bedrock and the ice, many never before documented.

These lakes are not just geographical curiosities. They can alter ice melt dynamics, lubricate glacial bases, and contribute to the stability or instability of ice sheets in the face of global warming. Each active subglacial lake can represent a pathway for water to flow to the sea, accelerating ice mass loss.

Climate change amplifies these effects. What was once thought to be solid and static—the vast Antarctic ice sheet—is increasingly behaving like a dynamic system, sensitive to ambient heat, the surrounding ocean, and the ice's own movement.

For the planet, these discoveries imply growing risks: rising sea levels, impacts on ocean currents, and effects on coastlines and vulnerable populations, especially on islands and low-lying regions. They also raise urgent scientific questions: How do these lakes interact with the subglacial ecosystem? How quickly will they respond to climate change?

Antarctica, as remote as it may seem, has a direct effect on our present. Every gram of ice lost, every lake that becomes active, impacts sea levels, the global climate, and our ability to adapt to the planet we are transforming.