Glacier Surge After Ice Shelf Collapse

The possibility that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will collapse as a consequence of ice shelf disintegration has been debated for many years. This matter is of concern because such an event would imply a sudden increase in sea level. Evidence is presented here showing drastic dynamic perturbations o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: De Angelis, Hernán, Skvarca, Pedro
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2003
Subjects:
Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
Boydell
Drygalski
Larsen Ice Shelf
The Antarctic
West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Antarc*
Ice Sheet
Ice Shelf
Ice Shelves
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1077987
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1077987
Description
Summary:The possibility that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will collapse as a consequence of ice shelf disintegration has been debated for many years. This matter is of concern because such an event would imply a sudden increase in sea level. Evidence is presented here showing drastic dynamic perturbations on former tributary glaciers that fed sections of the Larsen Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula before its collapse in 1995. Satellite images and airborne surveys allowed unambiguous identification of active surging phases of Boydell, Sjögren, Edgeworth, Bombardier, and Drygalski glaciers. This discovery calls for a reconsideration of former hypotheses about the stabilizing role of ice shelves.

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