scholarly journals Holocene thinning history of David Glacier, Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
James Stutz II
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Exposure Ages ◽  
East Antarctic Ice Sheet

<p>The Antarctic Ice Sheet is a significant component of the Earth System, modulating Earth‘s sea level and climate. Present day and projected ice mass losses from Antarctica are of paramount concern to human populations in low-lying communities around the world. Ocean freshening from future ice discharge events also has the potential to destabilise global climate patterns. Over 40 years of satellite observations have tracked changes in ice mass, extent and thickness in Antarctica. However, ice sheets respond on timescales that range from annual to millennial, and a geologic perspective is needed to fully understand ice sheet response on timescales longer than a few decades. This research seeks to provide an improved understanding of Antarcticas future by constraining its past. I focus on one of the largest outlet glaciers in Antarctica, the David Glacier/Drygalski Ice Tongue system which drains the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, dissects the Transantarctic Mountains and discharges into the Ross Sea. I seek to answer two questions; (1) what is the timing and nature of David Glacier thinning since the Last Glacial Maximum approximately 20,000 years ago, and (2) what physical processes were responsible for the observed thinning? I answer these questions by mapping the terrestrial and marine geomorphology along the former margins and seaward extension of David Glacier, and by using surface exposure dating of bedrock and glacial erratics to constrain the timing of glacier thinning. I then use a numerical flowline model to identify the processes that drove glacier thinning and retreat. Surface exposure ages from bedrock and glacial erratics at field sites both upstream and downstream of the modern grounding line reveal that David Glacier thinned for two millennia during the mid-Holocene. Near the coast, this thinning occurred at ∼6.5 kya at a rapid rate of up to 2 m/yr. Upstream from the grounding line, the thinning was more gradual but occurred simultaneously with thinning downstream. The timing of glacial thinning at David Glacier correlates with thinning events at other glaciers in the region and is consistent with offshore marine geological records. To identify the mechanisms responsible for the observed thinning of David Glacier, I conduct numerical model sensitivity experiments along a 1,600 km flowline, extending from the ice sheet interior to the continental shelf edge in the western Ross Sea. Offshore, the glacier flowline follows the Drygalski Trough, where it crosses numerous grounding zone wedges of various sizes. The flowline and prescribed ice shelf width is guided by the orientation and distribution of mega-scale glacial lineations as well as overall sea floor bathymetry. I explore the response of a stable, expanded David Glacier to the effects of increasing sub-ice shelf melt rates, and decreasing lateral buttressing which may have occurred as grounded ice in the Ross Sea migrated southward of the David Glacier. These forcings were also combined to explore potential feedbacks associated with Marine Ice Sheet Instability. This modelling demonstrates that David Glacier likely underwent rapid thinning over a period of ∼500 years as the grounding line retreated to a prominent sill at the mouth of David Fjord. After a period of ∼ 5 ka of stability, a second period of grounding line retreat in the model leads to the glacier reaching its modern configuration. This simulated two-phase grounding line retreat compares well with onshore geologically constrained thinning events at two sites (Mt. Kring and Hughes Bluff), both in terms of timing and rates of past glacier thinning. This retreat pattern can be forced by either increased ice shelf melting or reduced buttressing, but when combined, lower melt rates and less lateral buttressing is required to match onshore geologic constraints. Together, the findings in this thesis provide new data to constrain the past behaviour of a significant portion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and critical insights into the mechanisms that control ice sheet thinning and retreat. Incorporation of these constraints and improved understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving glacier thinning and grounding line retreat will ultimately improve continental scale ice sheet models which are used to project the future behaviour of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and its influence on global sea level.</p>

scholarly journals Holocene thinning history of David Glacier, Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
James Stutz II
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Exposure Ages ◽  
East Antarctic Ice Sheet

<p>The Antarctic Ice Sheet is a significant component of the Earth System, modulating Earth‘s sea level and climate. Present day and projected ice mass losses from Antarctica are of paramount concern to human populations in low-lying communities around the world. Ocean freshening from future ice discharge events also has the potential to destabilise global climate patterns. Over 40 years of satellite observations have tracked changes in ice mass, extent and thickness in Antarctica. However, ice sheets respond on timescales that range from annual to millennial, and a geologic perspective is needed to fully understand ice sheet response on timescales longer than a few decades. This research seeks to provide an improved understanding of Antarcticas future by constraining its past. I focus on one of the largest outlet glaciers in Antarctica, the David Glacier/Drygalski Ice Tongue system which drains the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, dissects the Transantarctic Mountains and discharges into the Ross Sea. I seek to answer two questions; (1) what is the timing and nature of David Glacier thinning since the Last Glacial Maximum approximately 20,000 years ago, and (2) what physical processes were responsible for the observed thinning? I answer these questions by mapping the terrestrial and marine geomorphology along the former margins and seaward extension of David Glacier, and by using surface exposure dating of bedrock and glacial erratics to constrain the timing of glacier thinning. I then use a numerical flowline model to identify the processes that drove glacier thinning and retreat. Surface exposure ages from bedrock and glacial erratics at field sites both upstream and downstream of the modern grounding line reveal that David Glacier thinned for two millennia during the mid-Holocene. Near the coast, this thinning occurred at ∼6.5 kya at a rapid rate of up to 2 m/yr. Upstream from the grounding line, the thinning was more gradual but occurred simultaneously with thinning downstream. The timing of glacial thinning at David Glacier correlates with thinning events at other glaciers in the region and is consistent with offshore marine geological records. To identify the mechanisms responsible for the observed thinning of David Glacier, I conduct numerical model sensitivity experiments along a 1,600 km flowline, extending from the ice sheet interior to the continental shelf edge in the western Ross Sea. Offshore, the glacier flowline follows the Drygalski Trough, where it crosses numerous grounding zone wedges of various sizes. The flowline and prescribed ice shelf width is guided by the orientation and distribution of mega-scale glacial lineations as well as overall sea floor bathymetry. I explore the response of a stable, expanded David Glacier to the effects of increasing sub-ice shelf melt rates, and decreasing lateral buttressing which may have occurred as grounded ice in the Ross Sea migrated southward of the David Glacier. These forcings were also combined to explore potential feedbacks associated with Marine Ice Sheet Instability. This modelling demonstrates that David Glacier likely underwent rapid thinning over a period of ∼500 years as the grounding line retreated to a prominent sill at the mouth of David Fjord. After a period of ∼ 5 ka of stability, a second period of grounding line retreat in the model leads to the glacier reaching its modern configuration. This simulated two-phase grounding line retreat compares well with onshore geologically constrained thinning events at two sites (Mt. Kring and Hughes Bluff), both in terms of timing and rates of past glacier thinning. This retreat pattern can be forced by either increased ice shelf melting or reduced buttressing, but when combined, lower melt rates and less lateral buttressing is required to match onshore geologic constraints. Together, the findings in this thesis provide new data to constrain the past behaviour of a significant portion of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and critical insights into the mechanisms that control ice sheet thinning and retreat. Incorporation of these constraints and improved understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving glacier thinning and grounding line retreat will ultimately improve continental scale ice sheet models which are used to project the future behaviour of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and its influence on global sea level.</p>

scholarly journals Stabilizing effect of mélange buttressing on the Marine Ice Cliff Instability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Schlemm ◽  
Johannes Feldmann ◽  
Ricarda Winkelmann ◽  
Anders Levermann
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
The West ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Calving Rate ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. Due to global warming and particularly high regional ocean warming, both Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers in the Amundsen region of the Antarctic Ice Sheet could lose their buttressing ice shelves over time. We analyze the possible consequences using the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM), applying a simple cliff-calving parameterization and an ice-mélange-buttressing model. We find that the instantaneous loss of ice-shelf buttressing, due to enforced ice-shelf melting, initiates grounding line retreat and triggers the marine ice sheet instability (MISI). As a consequence, the grounding line progresses into the interior of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and leads to a sea level contribution of 0.6 m within 100 a. By subjecting the exposed ice cliffs to cliff calving using our simplified parameterization, we also analyze the marine ice cliff instability (MICI). In our simulations it can double or even triple the sea level contribution depending on the only loosely constraint parameter which determines the maximum cliff-calving rate. The speed of MICI depends on this upper bound on the calving rate which is given by the ice mélange buttressing the glacier. However, stabilization of MICI may occur for geometric reasons. Since the embayment geometry changes as MICI advances into the interior of the ice sheet, the upper bound on calving rates is reduced and the progress of MICI is slowed down. Although we cannot claim that our simulations bear relevant quantitative estimates of the effect of ice-mélange buttressing on MICI, the mechanism has the potential to stop the instability. Further research is needed to evaluate its role for the past and future evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Antarctic ice sheet response to upper-bound scenarios

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sainan Sun ◽  
Frank Pattyn
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Upper Bound ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Basal Sliding ◽  
The Antarctic

&lt;p&gt;Mass loss of the Antarctic ice sheet contributes the largest uncertainty of future sea-level rise projections. Ice-sheet model predictions are limited by uncertainties in climate forcing and poor understanding of processes such as ice viscosity. The Antarctic BUttressing Model Intercomparison Project (ABUMIP) has investigated the 'end-member' scenario, i.e., a total and sustained removal of buttressing from all Antarctic ice shelves, which can be regarded as the upper-bound physical possible, but implausible contribution of sea-level rise due to ice-shelf loss. In this study, we add successive layers of &amp;#8216;realism&amp;#8217; to the ABUMIP scenario by considering sustained regional ice-shelf collapse and by introducing ice-shelf regrowth after collapse with the inclusion of ice-sheet and ice-shelf damage (Sun et al., 2017). Ice shelf regrowth has the ability to stabilize grounding lines, while ice shelf damage may reinforce ice loss. In combination with uncertainties from basal sliding and ice rheology, a more realistic physical upperbound to ice loss is sought. Results are compared in the light of other proposed mechanisms, such as MICI due to ice cliff collapse.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Antarctic Ice-Sheet Volume at 18000 Years B.P. and Holocene Sea-Level Changes at the West Antarctic Margin

1979 ◽  
Vol 24 (90) ◽  
pp. 213-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig S. Lingle ◽  
James A. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractThe Antarctic ice sheet has been reconstructed at 18000 years b.p. by Hughes and others (in press) using an ice-flow model. The volume of the portion of this reconstruction which contributed to a rise of post-glacial eustatic sea-level has been calculated and found to be (9.8±1.5) × 106 km3. This volume is equivalent to 25±4 m of eustatic sea-level rise, defined as the volume of water added to the ocean divided by ocean area. The total volume of the reconstructed Antarctic ice sheet was found to be (37±6) × 106 km3. If the results of Hughes and others are correct, Antarctica was the second largest contributor to post-glacial eustatic sea-level rise after the Laurentide ice sheet. The Farrell and Clark (1976) model for computation of the relative sea-level changes caused by changes in ice and water loading on a visco-elastic Earth has been applied to the ice-sheet reconstruction, and the results have been combined with the changes in relative sea-level caused by Northern Hemisphere deglaciation as previously calculated by Clark and others (1978). Three families of curves have been compiled, showing calculated relative sea-level change at different times near the margin of the possibly unstable West Antarctic ice sheet in the Ross Sea, Pine Island Bay, and the Weddell Sea. The curves suggest that the West Antarctic ice sheet remained grounded to the edge of the continental shelf until c. 13000 years b.p., when the rate of sea-level rise due to northern ice disintegration became sufficient to dominate emergence near the margin predicted otherwise to have been caused by shrinkage of the Antarctic ice mass. In addition, the curves suggest that falling relative sea-levels played a significant role in slowing and, perhaps, reversing retreat when grounding lines approached their present positions in the Ross and Weddell Seas. A predicted fall of relative sea-level beneath the central Ross Ice Shelf of as much as 23 m during the past 2000 years is found to be compatible with recent field evidence that the ice shelf is thickening in the south-east quadrant.

The contribution of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet to future sea level rise

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Jordan ◽  
Hilmar Gudmundsson ◽  
Adrian Jenkins ◽  
Chris Stokes ◽  
Stewart Jamieson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Mean Sea Level ◽  
Potential Contributor ◽  
Global Mean Sea Level ◽  
Global Mean ◽  
East Antarctic Ice Sheet

&lt;p&gt;The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) is the single largest potential contributor to future global mean sea level rise, containing a water mass equivalent of 53 m. Recent work has found the overall mass balance of the EAIS to be approximately in equilibrium, albeit with large uncertainties. However, changes in oceanic conditions have the potential to upset this balance. This could happen by both a general warming of the ocean and also by shifts in oceanic conditions allowing warmer water masses to intrude into ice shelf cavities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We use the &amp;#218;a numerical ice-flow model, combined with ocean-melt rates parameterized by the PICO box mode, to predict the future contribution to global-mean sea level of the EAIS. Results are shown for the next 100 years under a range of emission scenarios and oceanic conditions on a region by region basis, as well as for the whole of the EAIS.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Modelled response of the volume and thickness of the Antarctic ice sheet to the advance of the grounded area

2010 ◽  
Vol 51 (55) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuyuki Saito ◽  
Ayako Abe-Ouchi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Volume Change ◽  
Numerical Experiments ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractNumerical experiments are performed for the Antarctic ice sheet to study the sensitivity of the ice volume to variations in the area of grounded ice and to changes in the climate during the most recent deglaciation. The effect of the variations in the grounded area is found to be the major source of changes in the ice volume, while the effect of climate change was minor. The maximum possible contribution of the ice-volume change to sea-level rise during the deglaciation is estimated to be 36 m, which covers most values estimated in previous studies. The effect of the advance of the ice-sheet margin over those regions not connected to the major ice shelves contributes one-third of the total ice-volume change, which is comparable to the effect of the grounding of the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf and the contribution of the Ross and Amery Ice Shelves together.

scholarly journals Modelling present-day basal melt rates for Antarctic ice shelves using a parametrization of buoyant meltwater plumes

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner M. J. Lazeroms ◽  
Adrian Jenkins ◽  
G. Hilmar Gudmundsson ◽  
Roderik S. W. van de Wal
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Field ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Ocean Temperature ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Line Depth

Abstract. Basal melting below ice shelves is a major factor in mass loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet, which can contribute significantly to possible future sea-level rise. Therefore, it is important to have an adequate description of the basal melt rates for use in ice-dynamical models. Most current ice models use rather simple parametrizations based on the local balance of heat between ice and ocean. In this work, however, we use a recently derived parametrization of the melt rates based on a buoyant meltwater plume travelling upward beneath an ice shelf. This plume parametrization combines a non-linear ocean temperature sensitivity with an inherent geometry dependence, which is mainly described by the grounding-line depth and the local slope of the ice-shelf base. For the first time, this type of parametrization is evaluated on a two-dimensional grid covering the entire Antarctic continent. In order to apply the essentially one-dimensional parametrization to realistic ice-shelf geometries, we present an algorithm that determines effective values for the grounding-line depth and basal slope in any point beneath an ice shelf. Furthermore, since detailed knowledge of temperatures and circulation patterns in the ice-shelf cavities is sparse or absent, we construct an effective ocean temperature field from observational data with the purpose of matching (area-averaged) melt rates from the model with observed present-day melt rates. Our results qualitatively replicate large-scale observed features in basal melt rates around Antarctica, not only in terms of average values, but also in terms of the spatial pattern, with high melt rates typically occurring near the grounding line. The plume parametrization and the effective temperature field presented here are therefore promising tools for future simulations of the Antarctic Ice Sheet requiring a more realistic oceanic forcing.

scholarly journals Changes in ice dynamics and mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet

2006 ◽  
Vol 364 (1844) ◽  
pp. 1637-1655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Rignot
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
The Antarctic

The concept that the Antarctic ice sheet changes with eternal slowness has been challenged by recent observations from satellites. Pronounced regional warming in the Antarctic Peninsula triggered ice shelf collapse, which led to a 10-fold increase in glacier flow and rapid ice sheet retreat. This chain of events illustrated the vulnerability of ice shelves to climate warming and their buffering role on the mass balance of Antarctica. In West Antarctica, the Pine Island Bay sector is draining far more ice into the ocean than is stored upstream from snow accumulation. This sector could raise sea level by 1 m and trigger widespread retreat of ice in West Antarctica. Pine Island Glacier accelerated 38% since 1975, and most of the speed up took place over the last decade. Its neighbour Thwaites Glacier is widening up and may double its width when its weakened eastern ice shelf breaks up. Widespread acceleration in this sector may be caused by glacier ungrounding from ice shelf melting by an ocean that has recently warmed by 0.3 °C. In contrast, glaciers buffered from oceanic change by large ice shelves have only small contributions to sea level. In East Antarctica, many glaciers are close to a state of mass balance, but sectors grounded well below sea level, such as Cook Ice Shelf, Ninnis/Mertz, Frost and Totten glaciers, are thinning and losing mass. Hence, East Antarctica is not immune to changes.

scholarly journals Antarctic Ice-Sheet Volume at 18000 Years B.P. and Holocene Sea-Level Changes at the West Antarctic Margin

1979 ◽  
Vol 24 (90) ◽  
pp. 213-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig S. Lingle ◽  
James A. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Sea Level Changes ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractThe Antarctic ice sheet has been reconstructed at 18000 years b.p. by Hughes and others (in press) using an ice-flow model. The volume of the portion of this reconstruction which contributed to a rise of post-glacial eustatic sea-level has been calculated and found to be (9.8±1.5) × 106km3. This volume is equivalent to 25±4 m of eustatic sea-level rise, defined as the volume of water added to the ocean divided by ocean area. The total volume of the reconstructed Antarctic ice sheet was found to be (37±6) × 106km3. If the results of Hughes and others are correct, Antarctica was the second largest contributor to post-glacial eustatic sea-level rise after the Laurentide ice sheet. The Farrell and Clark (1976) model for computation of the relative sea-level changes caused by changes in ice and water loading on a visco-elastic Earth has been applied to the ice-sheet reconstruction, and the results have been combined with the changes in relative sea-level caused by Northern Hemisphere deglaciation as previously calculated by Clark and others (1978). Three families of curves have been compiled, showing calculated relative sea-level change at different times near the margin of the possibly unstable West Antarctic ice sheet in the Ross Sea, Pine Island Bay, and the Weddell Sea. The curves suggest that the West Antarctic ice sheet remained grounded to the edge of the continental shelf untilc. 13000 years b.p., when the rate of sea-level rise due to northern ice disintegration became sufficient to dominate emergence near the margin predicted otherwise to have been caused by shrinkage of the Antarctic ice mass. In addition, the curves suggest that falling relative sea-levels played a significant role in slowing and, perhaps, reversing retreat when grounding lines approached their present positions in the Ross and Weddell Seas. A predicted fall of relative sea-level beneath the central Ross Ice Shelf of as much as 23 m during the past 2000 years is found to be compatible with recent field evidence that the ice shelf is thickening in the south-east quadrant.

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