An international team of researchers led by the University of Southampton have undertaken extreme ‘Day After Tomorrow-style' research.

They discovered how fresh water melted from Antarctic ice sheets is detected below the surface of the ocean.

The team, along with fellow professors at University of East Anglia (UEA), British Antarctic Survey and Stockholm University, discovered that the Earth’s rotation influences the way meltwater behaves, therefore keeping it at depths of several hundred metres.

The research, led by the University of Southampton, was published this week in the journal Nature in association Professor Alberto Naveira Garabato.

Professor of Ocean and Earth Science at the University, who led the study said: “We believe our study is an important step in understanding how the meltwater mixes in the ocean and will help with the design of climate models.

"We largely assume meltwater is only present on the surface of oceans. Our research emphasises its detection at greater depths and explains why it is found there.”

The researchers made their discovery during an expedition to the Southern Ocean in 2014, led by Professor Karen Heywood of UEA, on British Antarctic Survey’s Royal Research Ship James Clark Ross where the team measured turbulence experienced by meltwater as it flowed out of a cave beneath the Pine Island Glacier – one of the fastest melting glaciers in Antarctica.

The scientists found that the meltwater ends up settling hundreds of metres down because the Earth’s rotation stops the movement as it tries to rise above the surrounding denser seawater.

Scientists are interested in the depth at which water from Antarctic ice sheets enters the ocean because it has differing effects on global ocean circulation and climate.

Dr Alexander Forryan added that the study "echoed’’ the movie The Day after Tomorrow, where the effect of meltwater on climate was taken to the extreme and popularised in the Hollywood blockbuster.

He said: “While no one expects our climate to change in the space of a few days, like the movie – we do know that fresh water flowing into our seas could dramatically affect sea levels and ocean circulation. As such, it is vital our models take into account the presence of both surface and deep meltwater to maximise their accuracy.”

The team looking to develop a way to represent the process in climate models, so that climate modellers can reliably investigate the impact of the melting of Antarctica on our changing climate.