Subglacial Freshwater Drainage Increases Simulated Basal Melt of the Totten Ice Shelf

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: David E. Gwyther, Christine F. Dow, Stefan Jendersie, Noel Gourmelen, Benjamin K. Galton‐Fenzi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2023
• Subjects: basal melting; subglacial discharge; Totten ice shelf; Antarctica; ice shelves; sea level rise; Geophysics. Cosmic physics; QC801-809; Antarc*; Antarctic; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves; Totten Ice Shelf
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103765; https://doaj.org/article/423cd08b56494dd8a72e6077d43cfb31

Abstract Subglacial freshwater discharge from beneath Antarctic glaciers likely has a strong impact on ice shelf basal melting. However, the difficulty in directly observing subglacial flow highlights the importance of modeling these processes. We use an ocean model of the Totten Ice Shelf cavity into which we inject subglacial discharge derived from a hydrology model applied to Aurora Subglacial Basin. Our results show (a) discharge increases melting in the vicinity of the outflow region, which correlates with features observed in surface elevation maps and satellite‐derived melt maps, with implications for ice shelf stability; (b) the change in melting is driven by the formation of a buoyant plume rather than the addition of heat; and (c) the buoyant plume originating from subglacial discharge‐driven melting is far‐reaching. Basal melting induced by subglacial hydrology is thus important for ice shelf stability, but is absent from almost all ice‐ocean models.