scholarly journals Model experiments on large tabular iceberg evolution: ablation and strain thinning

2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (174) ◽  
pp. 363-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Jansen ◽  
Henner Sandhäger ◽  
Wolfgang Rack
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Constant Density ◽  
Active Components ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Model Experiments ◽  
Flow And Heat Transfer ◽  
Sensitivity Studies ◽  
Basal Melting ◽  
Fundamental Equations

AbstractAntarctic tabular icebergs are important active components of the ice–ocean system. To investigate the relevance of inherent ice dynamics to iceberg evolution, we developed a numerical model based on the fundamental equations of ice-shelf flow and heat transfer, forced by environmental parameters of the ice–ocean–atmosphere system. Model experiments with idealized icebergs of constant density show that the strain thinning rate for a typical iceberg with a thickness of 250 m and a temperature of −15°C is about 1 m a−1. Sensitivity studies for different scenarios of environmental conditions confirmed the reliability of our model. A 5 year simulation of the evolution of iceberg A-38B yielded a mean decrease in thickness from 220 m to 106.3 m, 95% of which was caused by basal melting, 1% by surface melting and 4% by strain thinning. We found iceberg spreading decelerating by about 75%, and ice temperatures being strongly affected by progressive erosion of the relatively warm basal layers and warming in the uppermost part. According to the model results, basal melting is the primary cause of change of iceberg geometry during drift, whereas strain thinning is only relevant in cold areas where basal melting is low.

Constraining ice shelf basalt melting rates from isochrone data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vjeran Visnjevic ◽  
Reinhard Drews ◽  
Clemens Schannwell ◽  
Inka Koch
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Inverse Approach ◽  
History Of ◽  
Forward And Inverse Modeling ◽  
Basal Melting

<p>Ice shelves buttress ice flow from the continent towards the ocean, and their disintegration results in increased ice discharge.  Ice-shelf evolution and integrity is influenced by surface accumulation, basal melting, and ice dynamics. We find signals of all of these processes imprinted in the ice-shelf stratigraphy that can be mapped using isochrones imaged with radar.</p><p>Our aim is to develop an inverse approach to infer ice shelf basal melt rates using radar isochrones as observational constraints. Here, we investigate the influence of basalt melt rates on the shape of isochrones using combined insights from both forward and inverse modeling. We use the 3D full Stokes model Elmer/Ice in our forward simulations, aiming to reproduce isochrone patterns observed in our data. Moreover we develop an inverse approach based on the shallow shelf approximating, aiming to constrain basal melt rates using isochronal radar data and surface velocities. Insights obtained from our simulations can also guide the collection of new radar data (e.g., profile lines along vs. across-flow) in a way that ambiguities in interpreting the ice-shelf stratigraphy can be minimized. Eventually, combining these approaches will enable us to better constrain the magnitude and history of basal melting, which will give valuable input for ocean circulation and sea level rise projections.</p>

scholarly journals The Effects of Basal Melting on the Present Flow of the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

1986 ◽  
Vol 32 (110) ◽  
pp. 72-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. MacAyeal ◽  
R.H. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Oceanic Circulation ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Flow And Heat Transfer ◽  
Improve Model ◽  
Dependent Flow ◽  
Basal Melting ◽  
Shelf Flow

AbstractWe use a hybrid finite-element/finite-difference model of ice-shelf flow and heat transfer to investigate the effects of basal melting on the present observed flow of the Ross Ice Shelf, Two hypothetical basal melting scenarios are compared: (i) zero melting everywhere and (ii) melting sufficient to balance any large-scale patterns of ice-shelf thickening that would otherwise occur. As a result of the temperature-dependent flow law (which we idealize as having a constant activation energy of 120 kJ mol−1, a scaling coefficient of 1.3 N m−2s1/3, and an exponent of 3), simulated ice-shelf velocities for the second scenario are reduced by up to 20% below those of the first. Our results support the hypothesis that melting patterns presently maintain ice thickness in steady state and conform to patterns of oceanic circulation presently thought to ventilate the sub-ice cavity. Differences between the simulated and observed velocities are too large in the extreme south-eastern quarter of the ice shelf to permit verification of either basal melting scenario. These differences highlight the need to improve model boundary conditions at points where ice streams feed the ice shelf and where the ice shelf meets stagnant grounded ice.

scholarly journals The Effects of Basal Melting on the Present Flow of the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

1986 ◽  
Vol 32 (110) ◽  
pp. 72-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. MacAyeal ◽  
R.H. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Oceanic Circulation ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Flow And Heat Transfer ◽  
Improve Model ◽  
Dependent Flow ◽  
Basal Melting ◽  
Shelf Flow

AbstractWe use a hybrid finite-element/finite-difference model of ice-shelf flow and heat transfer to investigate the effects of basal melting on the present observed flow of the Ross Ice Shelf, Two hypothetical basal melting scenarios are compared: (i) zero melting everywhere and (ii) melting sufficient to balance any large-scale patterns of ice-shelf thickening that would otherwise occur. As a result of the temperature-dependent flow law (which we idealize as having a constant activation energy of 120 kJ mol−1, a scaling coefficient of 1.3 N m−2 s1/3, and an exponent of 3), simulated ice-shelf velocities for the second scenario are reduced by up to 20% below those of the first. Our results support the hypothesis that melting patterns presently maintain ice thickness in steady state and conform to patterns of oceanic circulation presently thought to ventilate the sub-ice cavity. Differences between the simulated and observed velocities are too large in the extreme south-eastern quarter of the ice shelf to permit verification of either basal melting scenario. These differences highlight the need to improve model boundary conditions at points where ice streams feed the ice shelf and where the ice shelf meets stagnant grounded ice.

scholarly journals Shear-margin melting causes stronger transient ice discharge than ice-stream melting according to idealized simulations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Feldmann ◽  
Ronja Reese ◽  
Ricarda Winkelmann ◽  
Anders Levermann
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Ice Stream ◽  
Future Global Warming ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Fast Flow ◽  
Basal Melting

Abstract. Basal ice-shelf melting is the key driver of Antarctica's increasing sea-level contribution. In diminishing the buttressing force of the ice shelves that fringe the ice sheet the melting increases the solid-ice discharge into the ocean. Here we contrast the influence of basal melting in two different ice-shelf regions on the time-dependent response of an idealized, inherently buttressed ice-sheet-shelf system. Carrying out three-dimensional numerical simulations, the basal-melt perturbations are applied close to the grounding line in the ice-shelf's 1) ice-stream region, where the ice shelf is fed by the fastest ice masses that stream through the upstream bed trough and 2) shear margins, where the ice flow is slower. The results show that melting below one or both of the shear margins can cause a decadal to centennial increase in ice discharge that is more than twice as large compared to a similar perturbation in the ice-stream region. We attribute this to the fact that melt-induced ice-shelf thinning in the central grounding-line region is attenuated very effectively by the fast flow of the central ice stream. In contrast, the much slower ice dynamics in the lateral shear margins of the ice shelf facilitate sustained ice-shelf thinning and thereby foster buttressing reduction. Regardless of the melt location, a higher melt concentration toward the grounding line generally goes along with a stronger response. Our results highlight the vulnerability of outlet glaciers to basal melting in stagnant, buttressing-relevant ice-shelf regions, a mechanism that may gain importance under future global warming.

scholarly journals High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 250-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver J. Marsh ◽  
Helen A. Fricker ◽  
Matthew R. Siegfried ◽  
Knut Christianson ◽  
Keith W. Nicholls ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Basal Melting

scholarly journals Thermohaline structure and circulation beneath the Langhovde Glacier ice shelf in East Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Minowa ◽  
Shin Sugiyama ◽  
Masato Ito ◽  
Shiori Yamane ◽  
Shigeru Aoki
Keyword(s):  
Freezing Point ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Rate Estimate ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Plume Water ◽  
Warm Deep Water ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
Basal Melting

AbstractBasal melting of ice shelves is considered to be the principal driver of recent ice mass loss in Antarctica. Nevertheless, in-situ oceanic data covering the extensive areas of a subshelf cavity are sparse. Here we show comprehensive structures of temperature, salinity and current measured in January 2018 through four boreholes drilled at a ~3-km-long ice shelf of Langhovde Glacier in East Antarctica. The measurements were performed in 302–12 m-thick ocean cavity beneath 234–412 m-thick ice shelf. The data indicate that Modified Warm Deep Water is transported into the grounding zone beneath a stratified buoyant plume. Water at the ice-ocean interface was warmer than the in-situ freezing point by 0.65–0.95°C, leading to a mean basal melt rate estimate of 1.42 m a−1. Our measurements indicate the existence of a density-driven water circulation in the cavity beneath the ice shelf of Langhovde Glacier, similar to that proposed for warm-ocean cavities of larger Antarctic ice shelves.

Modelling the ocean circulation and the basal melting in the Prydz Bay-Amery Ice Shelf system

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Jin ◽  
Antony J. Payne ◽  
William Seviour ◽  
Christopher Bull
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transport ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Water Masses ◽  
Prydz Bay ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Oceanic Circulation ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Thermodynamic Structure ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Basal Melting

<p>The basal melting of the Amery Ice Shelf (AIS) in East Antarctica and its connections with the oceanic circulation are investigated by a regional ocean model. The simulated estimations of net melt rate over AIS from 1976 to 2005 vary from 1 to 2 m/yr depending primarily due to inflow of modified Circumpolar Deep Water (mCDW). Prydz Bay Eastern Costal Current (PBECC) and the eastern branch of Prydz Bay Gyre (PBG) are identified as two main mCDW intrusion pathways. The oceanic heat transport from both PBECC and PBG has significant seasonal variability, which is associated with the Antarctic Slope Current. The onshore heat transport has a long-lasting effect on basal melting. The basal melting is primarily driven by the inflowing water masses though a positive feedback mechanism. The intruding warm water masses destabilize the thermodynamic structure in the sub-ice shelf cavity therefore enhancing the overturning circulations, leading to further melting due to increasing heat transport. However, the inflowing saltier water masses due to sea-ice formation could offset the effect of temperature through stratifying the thermodynamic structure, then suppressing the overturning circulation and reducing the basal melting.</p>

LES of Turbulent Separated Flow and Heat Transfer in a Symmetric Expansion Plane Channel

2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (5) ◽  
pp. 865-871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuaki Sugawara ◽  
Hiroyuki Yoshikawa ◽  
Terukazu Ota
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Finite Difference ◽  
Plane Channel ◽  
Separated Flow ◽  
Expansion Ratio ◽  
Vortical Flow ◽  
Flow And Heat Transfer ◽  
Finite Difference Equations ◽  
Separated And Reattached Flow ◽  
Fundamental Equations

The LES method was applied to analyze numerically an unsteady turbulent separated and reattached flow and heat transfer in a symmetric expansion plane channel of expansion ratio 2.0. The Smagorinsky model was used in the analysis and fundamental equations were discretized by means of the finite difference method, and their resulting finite difference equations were solved using the SMAC method. The calculations were conducted for Re=15,000. It is found that the present numerical results, in general, agree well with the previous experimental ones. The complicated vortical flow structures in the channel and their correlations with heat transfer characteristics are visualized through various fields of flow quantities.

scholarly journals Melting and freezing under Antarctic ice shelves from a combination of ice-sheet modelling and observations

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (240) ◽  
pp. 731-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
JORGE BERNALES ◽  
IRINA ROGOZHINA ◽  
MAIK THOMAS
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Model Set ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Basal Melting ◽  
The Antarctic

ABSTRACTIce-shelf basal melting is the largest contributor to the negative mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet. However, current implementations of ice/ocean interactions in ice-sheet models disagree with the distribution of sub-shelf melt and freezing rates revealed by recent observational studies. Here we present a novel combination of a continental-scale ice flow model and a calibration technique to derive the spatial distribution of basal melting and freezing rates for the whole Antarctic ice-shelf system. The modelled ice-sheet equilibrium state is evaluated against topographic and velocity observations. Our high-resolution (10-km spacing) simulation predicts an equilibrium ice-shelf basal mass balance of −1648.7 Gt a−1 that increases to −1917.0 Gt a−1 when the observed ice-shelf thinning rates are taken into account. Our estimates reproduce the complexity of the basal mass balance of Antarctic ice shelves, providing a reference for parameterisations of sub-shelf ocean/ice interactions in continental ice-sheet models. We perform a sensitivity analysis to assess the effects of variations in the model set-up, showing that the retrieved estimates of basal melting and freezing rates are largely insensitive to changes in the internal model parameters, but respond strongly to a reduction of model resolution and the uncertainty in the input datasets.

scholarly journals Sensitivity of the dynamics of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, to climate forcing for the next 50 years

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 1699-1710 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Seroussi ◽  
M. Morlighem ◽  
E. Rignot ◽  
J. Mouginot ◽  
E. Larour ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Major Contributor ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Climatic Impact ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Grounding Line

Abstract. Pine Island Glacier, a major contributor to sea level rise in West Antarctica, has been undergoing significant changes over the last few decades. Here, we employ a three-dimensional, higher-order model to simulate its evolution over the next 50 yr in response to changes in its surface mass balance, the position of its calving front and ocean-induced ice shelf melting. Simulations show that the largest climatic impact on ice dynamics is the rate of ice shelf melting, which rapidly affects the glacier speed over several hundreds of kilometers upstream of the grounding line. Our simulations show that the speedup observed in the 1990s and 2000s is consistent with an increase in sub-ice-shelf melting. According to our modeling results, even if the grounding line stabilizes for a few decades, we find that the glacier reaction can continue for several decades longer. Furthermore, Pine Island Glacier will continue to change rapidly over the coming decades and remain a major contributor to sea level rise, even if ocean-induced melting is reduced.

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