Calving of Ross Ice Shelf from wave erosion and hydrostatic stresses
Ice shelf calving constitutes roughly half of the total mass loss from the Antarctic ice sheet. Although much attention is paid to calving of giant tabular icebergs, these events are relatively rare. More frequent, smaller-scale calving events likely play an important role in the ice shelf frontal d...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:egusphere118409 2024-09-09T19:02:29+00:00 Calving of Ross Ice Shelf from wave erosion and hydrostatic stresses Sartore, Nicolas B. Wagner, Till J. W. Siegfried, Matthew R. Pujara, Nimish Zoet, Lucas K. 2024-03-26 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-571 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-571/ eng eng doi:10.5194/egusphere-2024-571 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-571/ eISSN: Text 2024 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-571 2024-08-28T05:24:15Z Ice shelf calving constitutes roughly half of the total mass loss from the Antarctic ice sheet. Although much attention is paid to calving of giant tabular icebergs, these events are relatively rare. More frequent, smaller-scale calving events likely play an important role in the ice shelf frontal dynamics. Here, we investigate the role of bending stresses at the ice shelf front in driving calving on the scale 100 m – 1 km, perpendicular to the ice edge. We focus in particular on how buoyant underwater "feet" that protrude beyond the above-water ice cliff may cause tensile stresses at the base of the ice and ultimately lead to fracture. Indirect and anecdotal observations of such feet at the Ross Ice Shelf front suggest that this process may be widespread. We consider satellite observations, together with an elastic beam model and a parameterization of frontal wave erosion to estimate the size and frequency of such calving events. Our results suggest that foot-induced mass loss at Ross Ice Shelf may cause up to 25 % of the total frontal ablation. However, stresses induced through this process are likely not sufficient to initiate crevassing but rather act to propagate existing crevasses. In addition, the relatively strong ice thickness dependence of the frontal uplift suggests an important role for internal bending moments due to temperature gradients in the ice. The highly variable environment, irregularity of pre-existing crevasse spacing, and complex rheology of the ice continue to pose challenges in better constraining the drivers behind the observed deformations and resulting calving rates. Text Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Iceberg* Ross Ice Shelf Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Antarctic Ross Ice Shelf The Antarctic |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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English |
description |
Ice shelf calving constitutes roughly half of the total mass loss from the Antarctic ice sheet. Although much attention is paid to calving of giant tabular icebergs, these events are relatively rare. More frequent, smaller-scale calving events likely play an important role in the ice shelf frontal dynamics. Here, we investigate the role of bending stresses at the ice shelf front in driving calving on the scale 100 m – 1 km, perpendicular to the ice edge. We focus in particular on how buoyant underwater "feet" that protrude beyond the above-water ice cliff may cause tensile stresses at the base of the ice and ultimately lead to fracture. Indirect and anecdotal observations of such feet at the Ross Ice Shelf front suggest that this process may be widespread. We consider satellite observations, together with an elastic beam model and a parameterization of frontal wave erosion to estimate the size and frequency of such calving events. Our results suggest that foot-induced mass loss at Ross Ice Shelf may cause up to 25 % of the total frontal ablation. However, stresses induced through this process are likely not sufficient to initiate crevassing but rather act to propagate existing crevasses. In addition, the relatively strong ice thickness dependence of the frontal uplift suggests an important role for internal bending moments due to temperature gradients in the ice. The highly variable environment, irregularity of pre-existing crevasse spacing, and complex rheology of the ice continue to pose challenges in better constraining the drivers behind the observed deformations and resulting calving rates. |
format |
Text |
author |
Sartore, Nicolas B. Wagner, Till J. W. Siegfried, Matthew R. Pujara, Nimish Zoet, Lucas K. |
spellingShingle |
Sartore, Nicolas B. Wagner, Till J. W. Siegfried, Matthew R. Pujara, Nimish Zoet, Lucas K. Calving of Ross Ice Shelf from wave erosion and hydrostatic stresses |
author_facet |
Sartore, Nicolas B. Wagner, Till J. W. Siegfried, Matthew R. Pujara, Nimish Zoet, Lucas K. |
author_sort |
Sartore, Nicolas B. |
title |
Calving of Ross Ice Shelf from wave erosion and hydrostatic stresses |
title_short |
Calving of Ross Ice Shelf from wave erosion and hydrostatic stresses |
title_full |
Calving of Ross Ice Shelf from wave erosion and hydrostatic stresses |
title_fullStr |
Calving of Ross Ice Shelf from wave erosion and hydrostatic stresses |
title_full_unstemmed |
Calving of Ross Ice Shelf from wave erosion and hydrostatic stresses |
title_sort |
calving of ross ice shelf from wave erosion and hydrostatic stresses |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-571 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-571/ |
geographic |
Antarctic Ross Ice Shelf The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Ross Ice Shelf The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Iceberg* Ross Ice Shelf |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Iceberg* Ross Ice Shelf |
op_source |
eISSN: |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/egusphere-2024-571 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2024/egusphere-2024-571/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-571 |
_version_ |
1809816562462359552 |