Recent rift formation and impact on the structural integrity of the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica
We report on the recent reactivation of a large rift in the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, in December 2012 and the formation of a 50 km long new rift in October 2016. Observations from a suite of ground-based and remote sensing instruments between January 2000 and July 2017 were used to track pr...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tc61440 2023-05-15T13:54:27+02:00 Recent rift formation and impact on the structural integrity of the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica Rydt, Jan Gudmundsson, G. Hilmar Nagler, Thomas Wuite, Jan King, Edward C. 2018-09-27 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-505-2018 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/505/2018/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-12-505-2018 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/505/2018/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2018 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-505-2018 2020-07-20T16:23:25Z We report on the recent reactivation of a large rift in the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, in December 2012 and the formation of a 50 km long new rift in October 2016. Observations from a suite of ground-based and remote sensing instruments between January 2000 and July 2017 were used to track progress of both rifts in unprecedented detail. Results reveal a steady accelerating trend in their width, in combination with alternating episodes of fast ( > 600 m day −1 ) and slow propagation of the rift tip, controlled by the heterogeneous structure of the ice shelf. A numerical ice flow model and a simple propagation algorithm based on the stress distribution in the ice shelf were successfully used to hindcast the observed trajectories and to simulate future rift progression under different assumptions. Results show a high likelihood of ice loss at the McDonald Ice Rumples, the only pinning point of the ice shelf. The nascent iceberg calving and associated reduction in pinning of the Brunt Ice Shelf may provide a uniquely monitored natural experiment of ice shelf variability and provoke a deeper understanding of similar processes elsewhere in Antarctica. Text Antarc* Antarctica Brunt Ice Shelf East Antarctica Ice Shelf Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Brunt Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(-22.500,-22.500,-74.750,-74.750) East Antarctica McDonald Ice Rumples ENVELOPE(-26.352,-26.352,-75.458,-75.458) The Cryosphere 12 2 505 520 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
op_collection_id |
ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
We report on the recent reactivation of a large rift in the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, in December 2012 and the formation of a 50 km long new rift in October 2016. Observations from a suite of ground-based and remote sensing instruments between January 2000 and July 2017 were used to track progress of both rifts in unprecedented detail. Results reveal a steady accelerating trend in their width, in combination with alternating episodes of fast ( > 600 m day −1 ) and slow propagation of the rift tip, controlled by the heterogeneous structure of the ice shelf. A numerical ice flow model and a simple propagation algorithm based on the stress distribution in the ice shelf were successfully used to hindcast the observed trajectories and to simulate future rift progression under different assumptions. Results show a high likelihood of ice loss at the McDonald Ice Rumples, the only pinning point of the ice shelf. The nascent iceberg calving and associated reduction in pinning of the Brunt Ice Shelf may provide a uniquely monitored natural experiment of ice shelf variability and provoke a deeper understanding of similar processes elsewhere in Antarctica. |
format |
Text |
author |
Rydt, Jan Gudmundsson, G. Hilmar Nagler, Thomas Wuite, Jan King, Edward C. |
spellingShingle |
Rydt, Jan Gudmundsson, G. Hilmar Nagler, Thomas Wuite, Jan King, Edward C. Recent rift formation and impact on the structural integrity of the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica |
author_facet |
Rydt, Jan Gudmundsson, G. Hilmar Nagler, Thomas Wuite, Jan King, Edward C. |
author_sort |
Rydt, Jan |
title |
Recent rift formation and impact on the structural integrity of the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica |
title_short |
Recent rift formation and impact on the structural integrity of the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica |
title_full |
Recent rift formation and impact on the structural integrity of the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Recent rift formation and impact on the structural integrity of the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Recent rift formation and impact on the structural integrity of the Brunt Ice Shelf, East Antarctica |
title_sort |
recent rift formation and impact on the structural integrity of the brunt ice shelf, east antarctica |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-505-2018 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/505/2018/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-22.500,-22.500,-74.750,-74.750) ENVELOPE(-26.352,-26.352,-75.458,-75.458) |
geographic |
Brunt Ice Shelf East Antarctica McDonald Ice Rumples |
geographic_facet |
Brunt Ice Shelf East Antarctica McDonald Ice Rumples |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Brunt Ice Shelf East Antarctica Ice Shelf |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Brunt Ice Shelf East Antarctica Ice Shelf |
op_source |
eISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-12-505-2018 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/505/2018/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-505-2018 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
505 |
op_container_end_page |
520 |
_version_ |
1766260309946793984 |