Evolution of sub-ice-shelf channels reveals changes in ocean-driven melt in West Antarctica
Abstract Basal channels, which are troughs carved into the undersides of ice shelves by buoyant plumes of water, are modulators of ice-shelf basal melt and structural stability. In this study, we track the evolution of 12 large basal channels beneath ice shelves of the Amundsen and Bellingshausen se...
Published in: | Journal of Glaciology |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2024
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2024.20 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143024000200 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/jog.2024.20 2024-05-12T07:54:01+00:00 Evolution of sub-ice-shelf channels reveals changes in ocean-driven melt in West Antarctica Alley, Karen E. Alley, Richard B. Crawford, Alex D. Ochwat, Naomi Wild, Christian T. Marson, Juliana Snow, Tasha Muto, Atsuhiro Pettit, Erin C. Child, Sarah F. Truffer, Martin Collao-Barrios, Gabriela Scambos, Ted A. National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Polar Programs Office of Polar Programs Natural Environment Research Council Natural Environment Research Council Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2024.20 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143024000200 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Glaciology page 1-15 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 Earth-Surface Processes journal-article 2024 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2024.20 2024-04-18T06:54:38Z Abstract Basal channels, which are troughs carved into the undersides of ice shelves by buoyant plumes of water, are modulators of ice-shelf basal melt and structural stability. In this study, we track the evolution of 12 large basal channels beneath ice shelves of the Amundsen and Bellingshausen seas region in West Antarctica using the Landsat record since its start in the 1970s through 2020. We observe examples of channel growth, interactions with ice-shelf features, and systematic changes in sinuosity that give insight into the life cycles of basal channels. We use the last two decades of the record, combined with contemporary ice-flow velocity datasets, to separate channel-path evolution into components related to advection by ice flow and those controlled by other forcings, such as ocean melt or surface accumulation. Our results show that ice-flow-independent lateral channel migration is overwhelmingly to the left when viewed down-flow, suggesting that it is dominated by Coriolis-influenced ocean melt. By applying a model of channel-path evolution dominantly controlled by ice flow and ocean melt, we show that the majority of channels surveyed exhibit non-steady behavior that serves as a novel proxy for increased ocean forcing in West Antarctica starting at least in the early 1970s. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Journal of Glaciology West Antarctica Cambridge University Press West Antarctica Journal of Glaciology 1 15 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth-Surface Processes |
spellingShingle |
Earth-Surface Processes Alley, Karen E. Alley, Richard B. Crawford, Alex D. Ochwat, Naomi Wild, Christian T. Marson, Juliana Snow, Tasha Muto, Atsuhiro Pettit, Erin C. Child, Sarah F. Truffer, Martin Collao-Barrios, Gabriela Scambos, Ted A. Evolution of sub-ice-shelf channels reveals changes in ocean-driven melt in West Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Earth-Surface Processes |
description |
Abstract Basal channels, which are troughs carved into the undersides of ice shelves by buoyant plumes of water, are modulators of ice-shelf basal melt and structural stability. In this study, we track the evolution of 12 large basal channels beneath ice shelves of the Amundsen and Bellingshausen seas region in West Antarctica using the Landsat record since its start in the 1970s through 2020. We observe examples of channel growth, interactions with ice-shelf features, and systematic changes in sinuosity that give insight into the life cycles of basal channels. We use the last two decades of the record, combined with contemporary ice-flow velocity datasets, to separate channel-path evolution into components related to advection by ice flow and those controlled by other forcings, such as ocean melt or surface accumulation. Our results show that ice-flow-independent lateral channel migration is overwhelmingly to the left when viewed down-flow, suggesting that it is dominated by Coriolis-influenced ocean melt. By applying a model of channel-path evolution dominantly controlled by ice flow and ocean melt, we show that the majority of channels surveyed exhibit non-steady behavior that serves as a novel proxy for increased ocean forcing in West Antarctica starting at least in the early 1970s. |
author2 |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Polar Programs Office of Polar Programs Natural Environment Research Council Natural Environment Research Council Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Alley, Karen E. Alley, Richard B. Crawford, Alex D. Ochwat, Naomi Wild, Christian T. Marson, Juliana Snow, Tasha Muto, Atsuhiro Pettit, Erin C. Child, Sarah F. Truffer, Martin Collao-Barrios, Gabriela Scambos, Ted A. |
author_facet |
Alley, Karen E. Alley, Richard B. Crawford, Alex D. Ochwat, Naomi Wild, Christian T. Marson, Juliana Snow, Tasha Muto, Atsuhiro Pettit, Erin C. Child, Sarah F. Truffer, Martin Collao-Barrios, Gabriela Scambos, Ted A. |
author_sort |
Alley, Karen E. |
title |
Evolution of sub-ice-shelf channels reveals changes in ocean-driven melt in West Antarctica |
title_short |
Evolution of sub-ice-shelf channels reveals changes in ocean-driven melt in West Antarctica |
title_full |
Evolution of sub-ice-shelf channels reveals changes in ocean-driven melt in West Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Evolution of sub-ice-shelf channels reveals changes in ocean-driven melt in West Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evolution of sub-ice-shelf channels reveals changes in ocean-driven melt in West Antarctica |
title_sort |
evolution of sub-ice-shelf channels reveals changes in ocean-driven melt in west antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jog.2024.20 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143024000200 |
geographic |
West Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
West Antarctica |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Journal of Glaciology West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Journal of Glaciology West Antarctica |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology page 1-15 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2024.20 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
15 |
_version_ |
1798846223239610368 |