Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68
The collapse of several ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula since the late 20th century has resulted in the upstream acceleration of multiple formerly buttressed outlet glaciers, raising questions about the stability of Antarctica's remaining ice shelves and the effects their demise may have...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3b5fb1fb078742cfb61f821134e0f43b 2024-02-11T09:55:55+01:00 Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 Katherine A. Deakin Frazer D. W. Christie Karla Boxall Ian C. Willis https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.102 https://doaj.org/article/3b5fb1fb078742cfb61f821134e0f43b EN eng Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143023001028/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2023.102 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/3b5fb1fb078742cfb61f821134e0f43b Journal of Glaciology, Pp 1-10 Antarctic glaciology iceberg calving ice shelves ice velocity remote sensing Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 article ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.102 2024-01-21T01:36:53Z The collapse of several ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula since the late 20th century has resulted in the upstream acceleration of multiple formerly buttressed outlet glaciers, raising questions about the stability of Antarctica's remaining ice shelves and the effects their demise may have upon inland ice. Here, we use high temporal resolution Sentinel-1A/B synthetic aperture radar-derived observations to assess the velocity response of Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS) to the calving of colossal iceberg A-68 in 2017. We find marked oscillations in ice-shelf flow across LCIS in the months following A-68's calving, beginning with a near-ice-shelf-wide slowdown of 11.3 m yr−1 on average. While falling close to the limits of detectability, these ice-flow variations appear to have been presaged by similar oscillations in the years prior to A-68's breakaway, associated primarily with major rifting events, together reflecting potentially hitherto unobserved ice-shelf mechanical processes with important implications for ice-shelf weakening. Such ice-flow oscillations were, however, short-lived, with more recent observations suggesting a deceleration below longer-term rates of ice flow. Collectively, our observations reveal complex spatial-temporal patterns of ice-flow variability at LCIS. Similarly abrupt fluctuations may have important implications for the stability of other ice shelves, necessitating the continued, close observation of Antarctica's coastline in the future. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Iceberg* Journal of Glaciology Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Journal of Glaciology 1 23 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Antarctic glaciology iceberg calving ice shelves ice velocity remote sensing Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
spellingShingle |
Antarctic glaciology iceberg calving ice shelves ice velocity remote sensing Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Katherine A. Deakin Frazer D. W. Christie Karla Boxall Ian C. Willis Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 |
topic_facet |
Antarctic glaciology iceberg calving ice shelves ice velocity remote sensing Environmental sciences GE1-350 Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
description |
The collapse of several ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula since the late 20th century has resulted in the upstream acceleration of multiple formerly buttressed outlet glaciers, raising questions about the stability of Antarctica's remaining ice shelves and the effects their demise may have upon inland ice. Here, we use high temporal resolution Sentinel-1A/B synthetic aperture radar-derived observations to assess the velocity response of Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS) to the calving of colossal iceberg A-68 in 2017. We find marked oscillations in ice-shelf flow across LCIS in the months following A-68's calving, beginning with a near-ice-shelf-wide slowdown of 11.3 m yr−1 on average. While falling close to the limits of detectability, these ice-flow variations appear to have been presaged by similar oscillations in the years prior to A-68's breakaway, associated primarily with major rifting events, together reflecting potentially hitherto unobserved ice-shelf mechanical processes with important implications for ice-shelf weakening. Such ice-flow oscillations were, however, short-lived, with more recent observations suggesting a deceleration below longer-term rates of ice flow. Collectively, our observations reveal complex spatial-temporal patterns of ice-flow variability at LCIS. Similarly abrupt fluctuations may have important implications for the stability of other ice shelves, necessitating the continued, close observation of Antarctica's coastline in the future. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Katherine A. Deakin Frazer D. W. Christie Karla Boxall Ian C. Willis |
author_facet |
Katherine A. Deakin Frazer D. W. Christie Karla Boxall Ian C. Willis |
author_sort |
Katherine A. Deakin |
title |
Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 |
title_short |
Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 |
title_full |
Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 |
title_fullStr |
Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 |
title_sort |
oscillatory response of larsen c ice shelf flow to the calving of iceberg a-68 |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.102 https://doaj.org/article/3b5fb1fb078742cfb61f821134e0f43b |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Iceberg* Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Iceberg* Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology, Pp 1-10 |
op_relation |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143023001028/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0022-1430 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5652 doi:10.1017/jog.2023.102 0022-1430 1727-5652 https://doaj.org/article/3b5fb1fb078742cfb61f821134e0f43b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2023.102 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
23 |
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1790599526658080768 |