scholarly journals Glaciological and oceanographic evidence of high melt rates beneath Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica

1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (143) ◽  
pp. 114-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Jenkins ◽  
David G. Vaughan ◽  
Stanley S. Jacobs ◽  
Hartmut H. Hellmer ◽  
John R. Keys
Keyword(s):  
Heat Loss ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Positive Mass ◽  
Catchment Basin ◽  
The Past ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Iceberg Calving ◽  
Basal Melting

AbstractSatellite imagery indicates that the floating terminus of Pine Island Glacier has changed little in extent over the past two decades. Data on the velocity and thickness of the glacier reveal that calving of 28 ± 4 Gta−1accounts for only half of the ice input near the grounding line. The apparently steady configuration implies that the remainder of the input is lost by basal melting at a mean rate of 12 ± 3 ma−1. Ocean circulation in Pine Island Bay transports +1°C waters beneath the glacier and temperatures recorded in melt-laden outflows show that heat loss from the ocean is consistent with the requirements of the calculated melt rate. The combination of iceberg calving and basal melting lies at the lower end of estimates for the total accumulation over the catchment basin, drawing into question previous estimates of a significantly positive mass budget for this part of the ice sheet.

scholarly journals Glaciological and oceanographic evidence of high melt rates beneath Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica

1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (143) ◽  
pp. 114-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Jenkins ◽  
David G. Vaughan ◽  
Stanley S. Jacobs ◽  
Hartmut H. Hellmer ◽  
John R. Keys
Keyword(s):  
Heat Loss ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Positive Mass ◽  
Catchment Basin ◽  
The Past ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Iceberg Calving ◽  
Basal Melting

AbstractSatellite imagery indicates that the floating terminus of Pine Island Glacier has changed little in extent over the past two decades. Data on the velocity and thickness of the glacier reveal that calving of 28 ± 4 Gta−1 accounts for only half of the ice input near the grounding line. The apparently steady configuration implies that the remainder of the input is lost by basal melting at a mean rate of 12 ± 3 ma−1. Ocean circulation in Pine Island Bay transports +1°C waters beneath the glacier and temperatures recorded in melt-laden outflows show that heat loss from the ocean is consistent with the requirements of the calculated melt rate. The combination of iceberg calving and basal melting lies at the lower end of estimates for the total accumulation over the catchment basin, drawing into question previous estimates of a significantly positive mass budget for this part of the ice sheet.

scholarly journals Siple Coast Project research of Crary Ice Rise and the mouths of Ice Streams B and C, West Antarctica: review and new perspectives

1993 ◽  
Vol 39 (133) ◽  
pp. 538-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Bindschadler
Keyword(s):  
Surface Topography ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Image Data ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
The Past ◽  
Grounding Line

Abstract Satellite imagery is used as a basis to review and critique the results of studies at the mouths of Ice Streams Β and C and Crary Ice Rise. In many cases, these past analyses are extended by taking advantage of the broad coverage within each image. New perspectives are provided by the image data and some longstanding controversies are resolved. The grounding line is easily delineated and mapped in areas covered by imagery. Extensive areas of grounded ice with complex patterns of flow stripes are identified on the flanks of Crary Ice Rise. The imagery also allows a corrected map of surface topography in the vicinity of the Downstream Β camp. New questions are posed by hitherto unseen features. Data from the IGY traverse of the Ross Ice Shelf in 1957 are included to demonstrate that large changes have occurred in the past almost 30 years in the area upstream of Crary Ice Rise. These changes include modifications in the surface topography, elimination of crevasses and increases in the ice thickness by approximately 60 m.

scholarly journals Siple Coast Project research of Crary Ice Rise and the mouths of Ice Streams B and C, West Antarctica: review and new perspectives

1993 ◽  
Vol 39 (133) ◽  
pp. 538-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Bindschadler
Keyword(s):  
Surface Topography ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Image Data ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
The Past ◽  
Grounding Line

AbstractSatellite imagery is used as a basis to review and critique the results of studies at the mouths of Ice Streams Β and C and Crary Ice Rise. In many cases, these past analyses are extended by taking advantage of the broad coverage within each image. New perspectives are provided by the image data and some longstanding controversies are resolved. The grounding line is easily delineated and mapped in areas covered by imagery. Extensive areas of grounded ice with complex patterns of flow stripes are identified on the flanks of Crary Ice Rise. The imagery also allows a corrected map of surface topography in the vicinity of the Downstream Β camp. New questions are posed by hitherto unseen features. Data from the IGY traverse of the Ross Ice Shelf in 1957 are included to demonstrate that large changes have occurred in the past almost 30 years in the area upstream of Crary Ice Rise. These changes include modifications in the surface topography, elimination of crevasses and increases in the ice thickness by approximately 60 m.

scholarly journals Ice-shelf basal channels in a coupled ice/ocean model

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (212) ◽  
pp. 1227-1244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl V. Gladish ◽  
David M. Holland ◽  
Paul R. Holland ◽  
Stephen F. Price
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Coupled System ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
First Approximation ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
History Of ◽  
Basal Melting

AbstractA numerical model for an interacting ice shelf and ocean is presented in which the ice- shelf base exhibits a channelized morphology similar to that observed beneath Petermann Gletscher’s (Greenland) floating ice shelf. Channels are initiated by irregularities in the ice along the grounding line and then enlarged by ocean melting. To a first approximation, spatially variable basal melting seaward of the grounding line acts as a steel-rule die or a stencil, imparting a channelized form to the ice base as it passes by. Ocean circulation in the region of high melt is inertial in the along-channel direction and geostrophically balanced in the transverse direction. Melt rates depend on the wavelength of imposed variations in ice thickness where it enters the shelf, with shorter wavelengths reducing overall melting. Petermann Gletscher’s narrow basal channels may therefore act to preserve the ice shelf against excessive melting. Overall melting in the model increases for a warming of the subsurface water. The same sensitivity holds for very slight cooling, but for cooling of a few tenths of a degree a reorganization of the spatial pattern of melting leads, surprisingly, to catastrophic thinning of the ice shelf 12 km from the grounding line. Subglacial discharge of fresh water along the grounding line increases overall melting. The eventual steady state depends on when discharge is initiated in the transient history of the ice, showing that multiple steady states of the coupled system exist in general.

scholarly journals An improved bathymetry compilation for the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica, to inform ice-sheet and ocean models

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 2079-2101 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. C. Graham ◽  
F. O. Nitsche ◽  
R. D. Larter
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Bellingshausen Sea ◽  
Warm Deep Water ◽  
Basal Melting

Abstract. The southern Bellingshausen Sea (SBS) is a rapidly-changing part of West Antarctica, where oceanic and atmospheric warming has led to the recent basal melting and break-up of the Wilkins ice shelf, the dynamic thinning of fringing glaciers, and sea-ice reduction. Accurate sea-floor morphology is vital for understanding the continued effects of each process upon changes within Antarctica's ice sheets. Here we present a new bathymetric grid for the SBS compiled from shipborne echo-sounder, spot-sounding and sub-ice measurements. The 1-km grid is the most detailed compilation for the SBS to-date, revealing large cross-shelf troughs, shallow banks, and deep inner-shelf basins that continue inland of coastal ice shelves. The troughs now serve as pathways which allow warm deep water to access the ice fronts in the SBS. Our dataset highlights areas still lacking bathymetric constraint, as well as regions for further investigation, including the likely routes of palaeo-ice streams. The new compilation is a major improvement upon previous grids and will be a key dataset for incorporating into simulations of ocean circulation, ice-sheet change and history. It will also serve forecasts of ice stability and future sea-level contributions from ice loss in West Antarctica, required for the next IPCC assessment report in 2013.

Representation of basal melting in idealised coupled ice sheet ocean models

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Zhao ◽  
Rupert Gladstone ◽  
Ben Galton-Fenzi ◽  
David Gwyther
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Periodic Pattern ◽  
Regional Ocean Modeling System ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Ocean Models ◽  
Basal Melting

<p>The ocean-driven basal melting has important implications for the stability of ice shelves in Antarctic, which largely affects the ice sheet mass balance, ocean circulation, and subsequently global sea level rise. Due to the limited observations in the ice shelf cavities, the couple ice sheet ocean models have been playing a critical role in examining the processes governing basal melting. In this study we use the Framework for Ice Sheet-Ocean Coupling (FISOC) to couple the Elmer/Ice full-stokes ice sheet model and the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) ocean model to model ice shelf/ocean interactions for an idealised three-dimensional domain. Experiments followed the coupled ice sheet–ocean experiments under the first phase of the Marine Ice Sheet–Ocean Model Intercomparison Project (MISOMIP1). A periodic pattern in the simulated mean basal melting rates is found to be highly consistent with the maximum barotropic stream function and also the grounding line retreat row by row,  which is likely to be related with the gyre break down near the grounding line caused by some non-physical instability events from the ocean bottom. Sensitivity tests are carried out, showing that this periodic pattern is not sensitive to the choice of couple time intervals and horizontal eddy viscosities but sensitive to vertical resolution in the ocean model, the chosen critical water column thickness in the wet-dry scheme, and the tracer properties for the nudging dry cells at the ice-ocean interface boundary. Further simulations are necessary to better explain the mechanism involved in the couple ice-ocean system, which is very significant for its application on the realistic ice-ocean systems in polar regions.</p>

scholarly journals Radar studies at the mouths of ice streams D and E, Antarctica

1993 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 262-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Jacobel ◽  
Robert Bindschadler
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Surface Topography ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
The West ◽  
Mass Balance Calculation ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Thickness Measurements

Ice thickness measurements have been carried out at the mouths of ice streams D and E, West Antarctica using a surface-based impulse radar. These studies have been undertaken as a part of the continuing effort to understand the state of the West Antarctica ice sheet and its response to climate change. Thickness measurements will be used in the mass balance calculation currently in progress and to better understand features in the surface topography seen at low angle sun illumination in the satellite imagery. Results show that the discharge areas of ice streams D and E are thickening by approximately 1 m per year, and thus that these ice streams are probably loosing mass. Aperiodic wavelike features in the surface topography are described which pose interesting questions about migration of the grounding line and ice-stream dynamics.

scholarly journals Full-Stokes modeling of grounding line dynamics, ice melt and iceberg calving for Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongju Yu ◽  
Eric Rignot ◽  
Mathieu Morlighem ◽  
Helene Seroussi
Keyword(s):  
West Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Linear Elastic ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Iceberg Calving ◽  
Elastic Fracture ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Thwaites Glacier (TG), West Antarctica, has been losing mass and retreating rapidly in the past three decades. Here we present a two-dimensional, Full-Stokes (FS) modeling study of the grounding line dynamics and iceberg calving of TG. First, we compare FS with two simplified models, the higher-order (HO) model and the shallow-shelf approximation (SSA) model, to determine the impact of changes in ice shelf basal melt rate on grounding line dynamics. Second, we combine FS with the Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) theory to simulate crevasse propagation and iceberg calving. In the first experiment, we find that FS requires basal melt rate consistent with remote sensing observations to reach steady state at TG’s current geometry while HO and SSA require unrealistically high basal melt rate. The grounding line of FS is also more sensitive to changes in basal melt rate than HO and SSA. In the second experiment, we find that only FS can produce surface and bottom crevasses that match radar sounding observations of crevasse width and height. We attribute the difference to the non- hydrostatic conditions of ice near the grounding line, which facilitate crevasse formation and are not accounted for in HO and SSA. Additional experiments using FS indicate that iceberg calving is significantly enhanced when surface crevasses exist near the grounding line, when ice shelf is shortened, or when the ice shelf front is undercut. We conclude that FS yields substantial improvements in the description of ice flow dynamics at the grounding line under high basal melt rate and in constraining crevasse formation and iceberg calving.

scholarly journals Ice shelf basal melt rates from a high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) record for Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2633-2656 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Shean ◽  
Ian R. Joughin ◽  
Pierre Dutrieux ◽  
Benjamin E. Smith ◽  
Etienne Berthier
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Amundsen Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Basal Melting

Abstract. Ocean-induced basal melting is responsible for much of the Amundsen Sea Embayment ice loss in recent decades, but the total magnitude and spatiotemporal evolution of this melt is poorly constrained. To address this problem, we generated a record of high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) for Pine Island Glacier (PIG) using commercial sub-meter satellite stereo imagery and integrated additional 2002–2015 DEM and altimetry data. We implemented a Lagrangian elevation change (Dh∕Dt) framework to estimate ice shelf basal melt rates at 32–256 m resolution. We describe this methodology and consider basal melt rates and elevation change over the PIG ice shelf and lower catchment from 2008 to 2015. We document the evolution of Eulerian elevation change (dh∕dt) and upstream propagation of thinning signals following the end of rapid grounding line retreat around 2010. Mean full-shelf basal melt rates for the 2008–2015 period were ∼82–93 Gt yr−1, with ∼200–250 m yr−1 basal melt rates within large channels near the grounding line, ∼10–30 m yr−1 over the main shelf, and ∼0–10 m yr−1 over the North shelf and South shelf, with the notable exception of a small area with rates of ∼50–100 m yr−1 near the grounding line of a fast-flowing tributary on the South shelf. The observed basal melt rates show excellent agreement with, and provide context for, in situ basal melt-rate observations. We also document the relative melt rates for kilometer-scale basal channels and keels at different locations on the ice shelf and consider implications for ocean circulation and heat content. These methods and results offer new indirect observations of ice–ocean interaction and constraints on the processes driving sub-shelf melting beneath vulnerable ice shelves in West Antarctica.

scholarly journals Iceberg calving of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: full-Stokes modeling combined with linear elastic fracture mechanics

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1283-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongju Yu ◽  
Eric Rignot ◽  
Mathieu Morlighem ◽  
Helene Seroussi
Keyword(s):  
Fracture Mechanics ◽  
Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Laser Altimeter ◽  
Linear Elastic ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Two Dimensional Flow ◽  
Iceberg Calving ◽  
Elastic Fracture

Abstract. Thwaites Glacier (TG), West Antarctica, has been losing mass and retreating rapidly in the past few decades. Here, we present a study of its calving dynamics combining a two-dimensional flow-band full-Stokes (FS) model of its viscous flow with linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) theory to model crevasse propagation and ice fracturing. We compare the results with those obtained with the higher-order (HO) and the shallow-shelf approximation (SSA) models coupled with LEFM. We find that FS/LEFM produces surface and bottom crevasses that are consistent with the distribution of depth and width of surface and bottom crevasses observed by NASA's Operation IceBridge radar depth sounder and laser altimeter, whereas HO/LEFM and SSA/LEFM do not generate crevasses that are consistent with observations. We attribute the difference to the nonhydrostatic condition of ice near the grounding line, which facilitates crevasse formation and is accounted for by the FS model but not by the HO or SSA models. We find that calving is enhanced when pre-existing surface crevasses are present, when the ice shelf is shortened or when the ice shelf front is undercut. The role of undercutting depends on the timescale of calving events. It is more prominent for glaciers with rapid calving rates than for glaciers with slow calving rates. Glaciers extending into a shorter ice shelf are more vulnerable to calving than glaciers developing a long ice shelf, especially as the ice front retreats close to the grounding line region, which leads to a positive feedback to calving events. We conclude that the FS/LEFM combination yields substantial improvements in capturing the stress field near the grounding line of a glacier for constraining crevasse formation and iceberg calving.

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