Ice tongue stability in a changing climate. ...

• Main Author: Gomez Fell, Rodrigo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Canterbury 2023
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic; Ice Sheet; Ross Sea
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.26021/14777; https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/handle/10092/105683

This thesis examines the factors and mechanisms contributing to ice tongue persistence and stability in the western Ross Sea and investigates whether ice tongues can be used as sentinels of change. Concluding that fast ice persistence enhances ice tongue growth, delays ice tongue calving and acts as a protective mantle against ocean erosion and tidal forcing. Ice tongues at the fringes of the Antarctic Ice Sheet lose mass primarily through basal melting and calving, and they are found sporadically around the Antarctic coast but are ubiquitous in the western Ross Sea. They are sensitive to ocean conditions that can weaken the ice mechanically or through thinning. Ice tongues, which are laterally unconfined, are likely to be particularly sensitive to ocean-induced stresses. Using novel satellite remote sensing methods, the basal mass balance of the ice tongues in the region was calculated, and the effect that fast ice has over ice tongue dynamics and mechanics is shown using two case studies. The basal mass ...