The structure and effect of suture zones in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Ice shelf fractures frequently terminate where they encounter suture zones, regions of material heterogeneity that form between meteoric inflows in ice shelves. This heterogeneity can consist of marine ice, meteoric ice with modified rheological properties, or the presence of fractures. Here, we use...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface |
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4158p0f9 2024-09-15T17:45:51+00:00 The structure and effect of suture zones in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica McGrath, Daniel Steffen, Konrad Holland, Paul R Scambos, Ted Rajaram, Harihar Abdalati, Waleed Rignot, Eric 588 - 602 2014-03-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4158p0f9 https://escholarship.org/content/qt4158p0f9/qt4158p0f9.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2013jf002935 unknown eScholarship, University of California qt4158p0f9 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4158p0f9 https://escholarship.org/content/qt4158p0f9/qt4158p0f9.pdf doi:10.1002/2013jf002935 CC-BY Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface, vol 119, iss 3 ice shelves suture zone fracture GPR Earth Sciences article 2014 ftcdlib https://doi.org/10.1002/2013jf002935 2024-06-28T06:28:20Z Ice shelf fractures frequently terminate where they encounter suture zones, regions of material heterogeneity that form between meteoric inflows in ice shelves. This heterogeneity can consist of marine ice, meteoric ice with modified rheological properties, or the presence of fractures. Here, we use radar observations on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica, to investigate (i) the termination of a 25 km long rift in the Churchill Peninsula suture zone, which was found to contain ~60 m of accreted marine ice, and (ii) the along-flow evolution of a suture zone originating at Cole Peninsula. We determine a steady state field of basal melting/freezing rates and apply it to a flowline model to delineate the along-flow evolution of layers within the ice shelf. The thickening surface wedge of locally accumulated meteoric ice, which likely has limited lateral variation in its mechanical properties, accounts for ~60% of the total ice thickness near the calving front. Thus, we infer that the lower ~40% of the ice column and the material heterogeneities present there are responsible for resisting fracture propagation and thereby delaying tabular calving events, as demonstrated in the >40 year time series leading up to the 2004/2005 calving event for Larsen C. This likely represents a highly sensitive aspect of ice shelf stability, as changes in the oceanic forcing may lead to the loss of this heterogeneity. ©2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves University of California: eScholarship Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 119 3 588 602 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
ice shelves suture zone fracture GPR Earth Sciences |
spellingShingle |
ice shelves suture zone fracture GPR Earth Sciences McGrath, Daniel Steffen, Konrad Holland, Paul R Scambos, Ted Rajaram, Harihar Abdalati, Waleed Rignot, Eric The structure and effect of suture zones in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
topic_facet |
ice shelves suture zone fracture GPR Earth Sciences |
description |
Ice shelf fractures frequently terminate where they encounter suture zones, regions of material heterogeneity that form between meteoric inflows in ice shelves. This heterogeneity can consist of marine ice, meteoric ice with modified rheological properties, or the presence of fractures. Here, we use radar observations on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica, to investigate (i) the termination of a 25 km long rift in the Churchill Peninsula suture zone, which was found to contain ~60 m of accreted marine ice, and (ii) the along-flow evolution of a suture zone originating at Cole Peninsula. We determine a steady state field of basal melting/freezing rates and apply it to a flowline model to delineate the along-flow evolution of layers within the ice shelf. The thickening surface wedge of locally accumulated meteoric ice, which likely has limited lateral variation in its mechanical properties, accounts for ~60% of the total ice thickness near the calving front. Thus, we infer that the lower ~40% of the ice column and the material heterogeneities present there are responsible for resisting fracture propagation and thereby delaying tabular calving events, as demonstrated in the >40 year time series leading up to the 2004/2005 calving event for Larsen C. This likely represents a highly sensitive aspect of ice shelf stability, as changes in the oceanic forcing may lead to the loss of this heterogeneity. ©2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
McGrath, Daniel Steffen, Konrad Holland, Paul R Scambos, Ted Rajaram, Harihar Abdalati, Waleed Rignot, Eric |
author_facet |
McGrath, Daniel Steffen, Konrad Holland, Paul R Scambos, Ted Rajaram, Harihar Abdalati, Waleed Rignot, Eric |
author_sort |
McGrath, Daniel |
title |
The structure and effect of suture zones in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
title_short |
The structure and effect of suture zones in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
title_full |
The structure and effect of suture zones in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
The structure and effect of suture zones in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
The structure and effect of suture zones in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
title_sort |
structure and effect of suture zones in the larsen c ice shelf, antarctica |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4158p0f9 https://escholarship.org/content/qt4158p0f9/qt4158p0f9.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2013jf002935 |
op_coverage |
588 - 602 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
op_source |
Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface, vol 119, iss 3 |
op_relation |
qt4158p0f9 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4158p0f9 https://escholarship.org/content/qt4158p0f9/qt4158p0f9.pdf doi:10.1002/2013jf002935 |
op_rights |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2013jf002935 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface |
container_volume |
119 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
588 |
op_container_end_page |
602 |
_version_ |
1810493766183682048 |