Brief Communication: Newly developing rift in Larsen C Ice Shelf presents significant risk to stability

An established rift in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, formerly constrained by a suture zone containing marine ice, grew rapidly during 2014 and is likely in the near future to generate the largest calving event since the 1980s and result in a new minimum area for the ice shelf. Here we investigate the rece...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Cryosphere
Main Authors: Jansen, D., Luckman, A. J., Cook, A., Bevan, S., Kulessa, B., Hubbard, B., Holland, P. R.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Ice Shelf
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1223-2015
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/9/1223/2015/
Description
Summary:An established rift in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, formerly constrained by a suture zone containing marine ice, grew rapidly during 2014 and is likely in the near future to generate the largest calving event since the 1980s and result in a new minimum area for the ice shelf. Here we investigate the recent development of the rift, quantify the projected calving event and, using a numerical model, assess its likely impact on ice shelf stability. We find that the ice front is at risk of becoming unstable when the anticipated calving event occurs.

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