The role of channelized basal melt in ice-shelf stability: recent progress and future priorities

• Published in: Annals of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Alley, Karen E., Scambos, Ted A., Alley, Richard B.
• Other Authors: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Heising-Simons Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey, National Science Foundation, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2022
• Subjects: Antarctic; Annals of Glaciology; Antarc*; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.5; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0260305523000058

Abstract Basal channels, which form where buoyant plumes of ocean water and meltwater carve troughs upwards into ice-shelf bases, are widespread on Antarctic ice shelves. The formation of these features modulates ice-shelf basal melt by influencing the flow of buoyant plumes, and influences structural stability through concentration of strain and interactions with fractures. Because of these effects, and because basal channels can change rapidly, on timescales similar to those of ice-shelf evolution, constraining the impacts of basal channels on ice shelves is necessary for predicting future ice-shelf destabilization and retreat. We suggest that future research priorities should include constraining patterns and rates of basal channel change, determining mechanisms and detailed patterns of basal melt, and quantifying the influence that channel-related fractures have on ice-shelf stability.