Larsen Ice Shelf Has Progressively Thinned

The retreat and collapse of Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves in tandem with a regional atmospheric warming has fueled speculation as to how these events may be related. Satellite radar altimeter measurements show that between 1992 and 2001 the Larsen Ice Shelf lowered by up to 0.27 ± 0.11 meters per...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Shepherd, Andrew, Wingham, Duncan, Payne, Tony, Skvarca, Pedro
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2003
Subjects:
Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
Larsen Ice Shelf
Antarc*
Ice Shelf
Ice Shelves
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1089768
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1089768
Description
Summary:The retreat and collapse of Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves in tandem with a regional atmospheric warming has fueled speculation as to how these events may be related. Satellite radar altimeter measurements show that between 1992 and 2001 the Larsen Ice Shelf lowered by up to 0.27 ± 0.11 meters per year. The lowering is explained by increased summer melt-water and the loss of basal ice through melting. Enhanced ocean-driven melting may provide a simple link between regional climate warming and the successive disintegration of sections of the Larsen Ice Shelf.

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