Catastrophic ice shelf breakup as the source of Heinrich event icebergs

• Published in: Paleoceanography
• Main Authors: Hulbe, Cl, Macayeal, Dr, Denton, Gh, Kleman, J, Lowell, Tv
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Amer Geophysical Union 2004
• Subjects: Heinrich events; ice shelf disintegration; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves; Iceberg*; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00228/33921/32219.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2003PA000890; https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00228/33921/

Heinrich layers of the glacial North Atlantic record abrupt widespread iceberg rafting of detrital carbonate and other lithic material at the extreme-cold culminations of Bond climate cycles. Both internal (glaciologic) and external ( climate) forcings have been proposed. Here we suggest an explanation for the iceberg release that encompasses external climate forcing on the basis of a new glaciological process recently witnessed along the Antarctic Peninsula: rapid disintegrations of fringing ice shelves induced by climate-controlled meltwater infilling of surface crevasses. We postulate that peripheral ice shelves, formed along the eastern Canadian seaboard during extreme cold conditions, would be vulnerable to sudden climate-driven disintegration during any climate amelioration. Ice shelf disintegration then would be the source of Heinrich event icebergs.