Getz Ice Shelf melt enhanced by freshwater discharge from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Antarctica's Getz Ice Shelf has been rapidly thinning in recent years, producing more meltwater than any other ice shelf in the world. The influx of fresh water is known to substantially influence ocean circulation and biological productivity, but relatively little is known about the factors co...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1399-2020 https://doaj.org/article/735f8ce5320945fa8ebdcfbdfc34c2f7 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:735f8ce5320945fa8ebdcfbdfc34c2f7 2023-05-15T14:02:31+02:00 Getz Ice Shelf melt enhanced by freshwater discharge from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet W. Wei D. D. Blankenship J. S. Greenbaum N. Gourmelen C. F. Dow T. G. Richter C. A. Greene D. A. Young S. Lee T.-W. Kim W. S. Lee K. M. Assmann 2020-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1399-2020 https://doaj.org/article/735f8ce5320945fa8ebdcfbdfc34c2f7 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.the-cryosphere.net/14/1399/2020/tc-14-1399-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-14-1399-2020 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/735f8ce5320945fa8ebdcfbdfc34c2f7 The Cryosphere, Vol 14, Pp 1399-1408 (2020) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1399-2020 2022-12-31T14:18:03Z Antarctica's Getz Ice Shelf has been rapidly thinning in recent years, producing more meltwater than any other ice shelf in the world. The influx of fresh water is known to substantially influence ocean circulation and biological productivity, but relatively little is known about the factors controlling basal melt rate or how basal melt is spatially distributed beneath the ice shelf. Also unknown is the relative importance of subglacial discharge from the grounded ice sheet in contributing to the export of fresh water from the ice shelf cavity. Here we compare the observed spatial distribution of basal melt rate to a new sub-ice-shelf bathymetry map inferred from airborne gravity surveys and to locations of subglacial discharge from the grounded ice sheet. We find that melt rates are high where bathymetric troughs provide a pathway for warm Circumpolar Deep Water to enter the ice shelf cavity and that melting is enhanced where subglacial discharge fresh water flows across the grounding line. This is the first study to address the relative importance of meltwater production of the Getz Ice Shelf from both ocean and subglacial sources. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Getz Ice Shelf Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic West Antarctic Ice Sheet Getz ENVELOPE(-145.217,-145.217,-76.550,-76.550) Getz Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(-126.500,-126.500,-74.250,-74.250) The Cryosphere 14 4 1399 1408 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 W. Wei D. D. Blankenship J. S. Greenbaum N. Gourmelen C. F. Dow T. G. Richter C. A. Greene D. A. Young S. Lee T.-W. Kim W. S. Lee K. M. Assmann Getz Ice Shelf melt enhanced by freshwater discharge from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Antarctica's Getz Ice Shelf has been rapidly thinning in recent years, producing more meltwater than any other ice shelf in the world. The influx of fresh water is known to substantially influence ocean circulation and biological productivity, but relatively little is known about the factors controlling basal melt rate or how basal melt is spatially distributed beneath the ice shelf. Also unknown is the relative importance of subglacial discharge from the grounded ice sheet in contributing to the export of fresh water from the ice shelf cavity. Here we compare the observed spatial distribution of basal melt rate to a new sub-ice-shelf bathymetry map inferred from airborne gravity surveys and to locations of subglacial discharge from the grounded ice sheet. We find that melt rates are high where bathymetric troughs provide a pathway for warm Circumpolar Deep Water to enter the ice shelf cavity and that melting is enhanced where subglacial discharge fresh water flows across the grounding line. This is the first study to address the relative importance of meltwater production of the Getz Ice Shelf from both ocean and subglacial sources. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
W. Wei D. D. Blankenship J. S. Greenbaum N. Gourmelen C. F. Dow T. G. Richter C. A. Greene D. A. Young S. Lee T.-W. Kim W. S. Lee K. M. Assmann |
author_facet |
W. Wei D. D. Blankenship J. S. Greenbaum N. Gourmelen C. F. Dow T. G. Richter C. A. Greene D. A. Young S. Lee T.-W. Kim W. S. Lee K. M. Assmann |
author_sort |
W. Wei |
title |
Getz Ice Shelf melt enhanced by freshwater discharge from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
title_short |
Getz Ice Shelf melt enhanced by freshwater discharge from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
title_full |
Getz Ice Shelf melt enhanced by freshwater discharge from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
title_fullStr |
Getz Ice Shelf melt enhanced by freshwater discharge from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
title_full_unstemmed |
Getz Ice Shelf melt enhanced by freshwater discharge from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
title_sort |
getz ice shelf melt enhanced by freshwater discharge from beneath the west antarctic ice sheet |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1399-2020 https://doaj.org/article/735f8ce5320945fa8ebdcfbdfc34c2f7 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-145.217,-145.217,-76.550,-76.550) ENVELOPE(-126.500,-126.500,-74.250,-74.250) |
geographic |
Antarctic West Antarctic Ice Sheet Getz Getz Ice Shelf |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic West Antarctic Ice Sheet Getz Getz Ice Shelf |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Getz Ice Shelf Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Getz Ice Shelf Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 14, Pp 1399-1408 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.the-cryosphere.net/14/1399/2020/tc-14-1399-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-14-1399-2020 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/735f8ce5320945fa8ebdcfbdfc34c2f7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1399-2020 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1399 |
op_container_end_page |
1408 |
_version_ |
1766272829187162112 |