Researchers from America and Australia have reported a recent melting event on the surface of West Antarctica of 777,000 square kilometres — an area larger than Texas, according to a study published in Nature Communications. The event lasted for 15 days and took place on the surface of the Ross Ice Shelf — the largest floating ice platform on Earth — in the Antarctic summer of 2016. The surface melting combined with ocean-driven melting, could further compromise the West Antarctica, which contains enough water to raise sea levels by three metres, and could be a harbinger of future events as the planet continues to warm. To find out more go to January 2016 extensive summer melt in West Antarctica favoured by strong El Niño.