During this formation CO2 splits off and is dissolved in a heavy cold brine, which gets squeezed out of the ice and sinks into the deeper parts of the ocean. (sciencedaily.com)
If so, a reduction in cold brine would mean the glacier's winter melt rate would increase. (sciencedaily.com)
These showed that in the latter part of the study period, the extent of polynyas (and therefore the production of cold brine) decreased significantly. (sciencedaily.com)