Antarctic ice shelf disintegration triggered by sea ice loss and ocean swell

• Other Authors: AADC (owner), AADC, DATA OFFICER (distributor), AADC, DATA OFFICER (custodian), AU/AADC > Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Australia (hasAssociationWith), Australian Antarctic Data Centre (publisher), Australian Antarctic Division (sponsor), BENNETTS, LUKE (collaborator), BENNETTS, LUKE (hasPrincipalInvestigator), MASSOM, ROB (collaborator), MASSOM, ROB (hasPrincipalInvestigator), MASSOM, ROB (author), Massom, R., Bennetts, L., Squire, V., Reid, P., Scambos, T., Stammerjohn, S. (originator), REID, PHILLIP (collaborator), REID, PHILLIP (hasPrincipalInvestigator), REID, PHILLIP (author), SCAMBOS, TED (collaborator), SCAMBOS, TED (hasPrincipalInvestigator), SQUIRE, VERNON (collaborator), SQUIRE, VERNON (hasPrincipalInvestigator), STAMMERJOHN, SHARON (collaborator), STAMMERJOHN, SHARON (hasPrincipalInvestigator)
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Australian Ocean Data Network
• Subjects: climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere; oceans; EARTH SCIENCE > CRYOSPHERE > GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS > ICEBERGS; SEA ICE > ICE EXTENT; SEA ICE; OCEANS > OCEAN WAVES > SWELLS; WAVE PERIOD; SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT; SEA ICE CONCENTRATION; ICE SHELF; ICE SHELF STRAIN; SMMR > Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer; SSM/I > Special Sensor Microwave/Imager; SATELLITES; MODELS; DMSP > Defense Meteorological Satellite Program; Nimbus-7; ACE/CRC; AMD/AU; AMD; CEOS; GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR; CONTINENT > Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves; Iceberg*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://researchdata.edu.au/antarctic-ice-shelf-ocean-swell/2818764

Progress Code: completed Purpose The purpose of the dataset is to investigate the role of ocean swells in triggering ice shelf disintegration events on the Antarctic Peninsula since 1995 in the absence of a protective sea ice "buffer". The data are from our Nature Article from June 2018: "Antarctic ice shelf disintegration triggered by sea ice loss and ocean swell". The abstract is: "Understanding the causes of recent catastrophic ice shelf disintegrations is a crucial step towards improving coupled models of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and predicting its future state and contribution to sea-level rise. An overlooked climate-related causal factor is regional sea ice loss. Here we show that for the disintegration events observed (the collapse of the Larsen A and B and Wilkins ice shelves), the increased seasonal absence of a protective sea ice buffer enabled increased flexure of vulnerable outer ice shelf margins by ocean swells that probably weakened them to the point of calving. This outer-margin calving triggered wider-scale disintegration of ice shelves compromised by multiple factors in preceding years, with key prerequisites being extensive flooding and outer-margin fracturing. Wave-induced flexure is particularly effective in outermost ice shelf regions thinned by bottom crevassing. Our analysis of satellite and ocean-wave data and modelling of combined ice shelf, sea ice and wave properties highlights the need for ice sheet models to account for sea ice and ocean waves." Details of the analyses and data used, and the data generated by this study, are given in the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0212-1. Code availability: Analytical scripts used in this study are freely available from the authors via the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Data availability: The datasets and products generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. The datasets forming the basis of the study are available as follows: (1) Sea ice: Daily ...