On the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of Filchner Ice Shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling
Ice shelves play a key role in the stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet due to their buttressing effect. A loss of buttressing as a result of increased basal melting or ice shelf disintegration will lead to increased ice discharge. Some ice shelves exhibit channels at the base that are not yet fully...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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2022
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Online Access: | https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57282/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57282/1/tc-16-4107-2022.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/4107/2022/ https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.39d29bd6-905b-4509-9f3b-f3a6a4c221f4 |
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ftawi:oai:epic.awi.de:57282 2024-09-15T17:41:46+00:00 On the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of Filchner Ice Shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling Humbert, Angelika Christmann, Julia Corr, H. F. J. Helm, Veit Höyns, Lea-Sophie Hofstede, Coen Müller, Ralf Neckel, Niklas Nicholls, Keith W. Schultz, Timm Steinhage, Daniel Wolovick, Michael Zeising, Ole 2022 application/pdf https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57282/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57282/1/tc-16-4107-2022.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/4107/2022/ https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.39d29bd6-905b-4509-9f3b-f3a6a4c221f4 unknown https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57282/1/tc-16-4107-2022.pdf Humbert, A. , Christmann, J. , Corr, H. F. J. , Helm, V. orcid:0000-0001-7788-9328 , Höyns, L. S. , Hofstede, C. orcid:0000-0002-6015-6918 , Müller, R. , Neckel, N. orcid:0000-0003-4300-5488 , Nicholls, K. W. , Schultz, T. , Steinhage, D. orcid:0000-0003-4737-9751 , Wolovick, M. orcid:0000-0002-9345-7039 and Zeising, O. orcid:0000-0002-1284-8098 (2022) On the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of Filchner Ice Shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling , The Cryosphere, 16 (10), pp. 4107-4139 . doi:10.5194/tc-16-4107-2022 <https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4107-2022> , hdl:10013/epic.39d29bd6-905b-4509-9f3b-f3a6a4c221f4 EPIC3The Cryosphere, 16(10), pp. 4107-4139 Article isiRev 2022 ftawi https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4107-2022 2024-06-24T04:30:12Z Ice shelves play a key role in the stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet due to their buttressing effect. A loss of buttressing as a result of increased basal melting or ice shelf disintegration will lead to increased ice discharge. Some ice shelves exhibit channels at the base that are not yet fully understood. In this study, we present in situ melt rates of a channel which is up to 330 m high and located in the southern Filchner Ice Shelf. Maximum observed melt rates are 2 m yr−1. Melt rates inside the channel decrease in the direction of ice flow and turn to freezing ∼55 km downstream of the grounding line. While closer to the grounding line melt rates are higher within the channel than outside, this relationship reverses further downstream. Comparing the modeled evolution of this channel under present-day climate conditions over 250 years with its present geometry reveals a mismatch. Melt rates twice as large as the present-day values are required to fit the observed geometry. In contrast, forcing the model with present-day melt rates results in a closure of the channel, which contradicts observations. The ice shelf experiences strong tidal variability in vertical strain rates at the measured site, and discrete pulses of increased melting occurred throughout the measurement period. The type of melt channel in this study diminishes in height with distance from the grounding line and is hence not a destabilizing factor for ice shelves. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) The Cryosphere 16 10 4107 4139 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) |
op_collection_id |
ftawi |
language |
unknown |
description |
Ice shelves play a key role in the stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet due to their buttressing effect. A loss of buttressing as a result of increased basal melting or ice shelf disintegration will lead to increased ice discharge. Some ice shelves exhibit channels at the base that are not yet fully understood. In this study, we present in situ melt rates of a channel which is up to 330 m high and located in the southern Filchner Ice Shelf. Maximum observed melt rates are 2 m yr−1. Melt rates inside the channel decrease in the direction of ice flow and turn to freezing ∼55 km downstream of the grounding line. While closer to the grounding line melt rates are higher within the channel than outside, this relationship reverses further downstream. Comparing the modeled evolution of this channel under present-day climate conditions over 250 years with its present geometry reveals a mismatch. Melt rates twice as large as the present-day values are required to fit the observed geometry. In contrast, forcing the model with present-day melt rates results in a closure of the channel, which contradicts observations. The ice shelf experiences strong tidal variability in vertical strain rates at the measured site, and discrete pulses of increased melting occurred throughout the measurement period. The type of melt channel in this study diminishes in height with distance from the grounding line and is hence not a destabilizing factor for ice shelves. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Humbert, Angelika Christmann, Julia Corr, H. F. J. Helm, Veit Höyns, Lea-Sophie Hofstede, Coen Müller, Ralf Neckel, Niklas Nicholls, Keith W. Schultz, Timm Steinhage, Daniel Wolovick, Michael Zeising, Ole |
spellingShingle |
Humbert, Angelika Christmann, Julia Corr, H. F. J. Helm, Veit Höyns, Lea-Sophie Hofstede, Coen Müller, Ralf Neckel, Niklas Nicholls, Keith W. Schultz, Timm Steinhage, Daniel Wolovick, Michael Zeising, Ole On the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of Filchner Ice Shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling |
author_facet |
Humbert, Angelika Christmann, Julia Corr, H. F. J. Helm, Veit Höyns, Lea-Sophie Hofstede, Coen Müller, Ralf Neckel, Niklas Nicholls, Keith W. Schultz, Timm Steinhage, Daniel Wolovick, Michael Zeising, Ole |
author_sort |
Humbert, Angelika |
title |
On the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of Filchner Ice Shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling |
title_short |
On the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of Filchner Ice Shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling |
title_full |
On the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of Filchner Ice Shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling |
title_fullStr |
On the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of Filchner Ice Shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling |
title_full_unstemmed |
On the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of Filchner Ice Shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling |
title_sort |
on the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of filchner ice shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57282/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57282/1/tc-16-4107-2022.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/4107/2022/ https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.39d29bd6-905b-4509-9f3b-f3a6a4c221f4 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere |
op_source |
EPIC3The Cryosphere, 16(10), pp. 4107-4139 |
op_relation |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57282/1/tc-16-4107-2022.pdf Humbert, A. , Christmann, J. , Corr, H. F. J. , Helm, V. orcid:0000-0001-7788-9328 , Höyns, L. S. , Hofstede, C. orcid:0000-0002-6015-6918 , Müller, R. , Neckel, N. orcid:0000-0003-4300-5488 , Nicholls, K. W. , Schultz, T. , Steinhage, D. orcid:0000-0003-4737-9751 , Wolovick, M. orcid:0000-0002-9345-7039 and Zeising, O. orcid:0000-0002-1284-8098 (2022) On the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of Filchner Ice Shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling , The Cryosphere, 16 (10), pp. 4107-4139 . doi:10.5194/tc-16-4107-2022 <https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4107-2022> , hdl:10013/epic.39d29bd6-905b-4509-9f3b-f3a6a4c221f4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4107-2022 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
4107 |
op_container_end_page |
4139 |
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1810488014031290368 |