Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf
The collapses of the Larsen A and B ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula in 1995 and 2002 confirm the impact of southward-propagating climate warming in this region. Recent mass and dynamic changes of Larsen B’s southern neighbour Larsen C, the fourth largest ice shelf in Antarctica, may herald a...
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ftawi:oai:epic.awi.de:35464 2023-05-15T13:40:26+02:00 Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf Kulessa, Bernd Jansen, Daniela Luckman, Adrian J. King, Edward C. Sammonds, Peter R. 2014-04-22 application/pdf https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/35464/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/35464/1/Kulessa2014.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.43450 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.43450.d001 unknown Macmillan Publishers Limited https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/35464/1/Kulessa2014.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.43450.d001 Kulessa, B. , Jansen, D. orcid:0000-0002-4412-5820 , Luckman, A. J. , King, E. C. and Sammonds, P. R. (2014) Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf , Nature Communications, 5 , p. 3707 . doi:10.1038/ncomms4707 <https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4707> , hdl:10013/epic.43450 EPIC3Nature Communications, Macmillan Publishers Limited, 5, pp. 3707, ISSN: 2041-1723 Article isiRev 2014 ftawi https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4707 2021-12-24T15:39:29Z The collapses of the Larsen A and B ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula in 1995 and 2002 confirm the impact of southward-propagating climate warming in this region. Recent mass and dynamic changes of Larsen B’s southern neighbour Larsen C, the fourth largest ice shelf in Antarctica, may herald a similar instability. Here, using a validated ice-shelf model run in diagnostic mode, constrained by satellite and in situ geophysical data, we identify the nature of this potential instability. We demonstrate that the present-day spatial distribution and orientation of the principal stresses within Larsen C ice shelf are akin to those within pre-collapse Larsen B. When Larsen B’s stabilizing frontal portion was lost in 1995, the unstable remaining shelf accelerated, crumbled and ultimately collapsed. We hypothesize that Larsen C ice shelf may suffer a similar fate if it were not stabilized by warm and mechanically soft marine ice, entrained within narrow suture zones Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Nature Communications 5 1 |
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Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) |
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ftawi |
language |
unknown |
description |
The collapses of the Larsen A and B ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula in 1995 and 2002 confirm the impact of southward-propagating climate warming in this region. Recent mass and dynamic changes of Larsen B’s southern neighbour Larsen C, the fourth largest ice shelf in Antarctica, may herald a similar instability. Here, using a validated ice-shelf model run in diagnostic mode, constrained by satellite and in situ geophysical data, we identify the nature of this potential instability. We demonstrate that the present-day spatial distribution and orientation of the principal stresses within Larsen C ice shelf are akin to those within pre-collapse Larsen B. When Larsen B’s stabilizing frontal portion was lost in 1995, the unstable remaining shelf accelerated, crumbled and ultimately collapsed. We hypothesize that Larsen C ice shelf may suffer a similar fate if it were not stabilized by warm and mechanically soft marine ice, entrained within narrow suture zones |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kulessa, Bernd Jansen, Daniela Luckman, Adrian J. King, Edward C. Sammonds, Peter R. |
spellingShingle |
Kulessa, Bernd Jansen, Daniela Luckman, Adrian J. King, Edward C. Sammonds, Peter R. Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf |
author_facet |
Kulessa, Bernd Jansen, Daniela Luckman, Adrian J. King, Edward C. Sammonds, Peter R. |
author_sort |
Kulessa, Bernd |
title |
Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf |
title_short |
Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf |
title_full |
Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf |
title_fullStr |
Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf |
title_full_unstemmed |
Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf |
title_sort |
marine ice regulates the future stability of a large antarctic ice shelf |
publisher |
Macmillan Publishers Limited |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/35464/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/35464/1/Kulessa2014.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.43450 https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.43450.d001 |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
op_source |
EPIC3Nature Communications, Macmillan Publishers Limited, 5, pp. 3707, ISSN: 2041-1723 |
op_relation |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/35464/1/Kulessa2014.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.43450.d001 Kulessa, B. , Jansen, D. orcid:0000-0002-4412-5820 , Luckman, A. J. , King, E. C. and Sammonds, P. R. (2014) Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf , Nature Communications, 5 , p. 3707 . doi:10.1038/ncomms4707 <https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4707> , hdl:10013/epic.43450 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4707 |
container_title |
Nature Communications |
container_volume |
5 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766133971211517952 |