Can rifts alter ocean dynamics beneath ice shelves?
Land ice discharge from the Antarctic continent into the ocean is restrained by ice shelves, floating extensions of grounded ice that buttress the glacier outflow. The ongoing thinning of these ice shelves – largely due to enhanced melting at their base in response to global warming – is known to ac...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2261-2023 https://doaj.org/article/7b861fed2b014f81b2ed19f7e8aaddca |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7b861fed2b014f81b2ed19f7e8aaddca 2023-07-02T03:29:41+02:00 Can rifts alter ocean dynamics beneath ice shelves? M. Poinelli M. Schodlok E. Larour M. Vizcaino R. Riva 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2261-2023 https://doaj.org/article/7b861fed2b014f81b2ed19f7e8aaddca EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/2261/2023/tc-17-2261-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-17-2261-2023 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/7b861fed2b014f81b2ed19f7e8aaddca The Cryosphere, Vol 17, Pp 2261-2283 (2023) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2261-2023 2023-06-11T00:35:56Z Land ice discharge from the Antarctic continent into the ocean is restrained by ice shelves, floating extensions of grounded ice that buttress the glacier outflow. The ongoing thinning of these ice shelves – largely due to enhanced melting at their base in response to global warming – is known to accelerate the release of glacier meltwater into the world oceans, augmenting global sea level. Mechanisms of ocean heat intrusion under the ice base are therefore crucial to project the future of Antarctic ice shelves. Furthermore, ice shelves are weakened by the presence of kilometer-wide full-thickness ice rifts, which are observed all around Antarctica. However, their impact on ocean circulation around and below ice shelves has been largely unexplored as ocean models are commonly characterized by resolutions that are too coarse to resolve their presence. Here, we apply the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model at high resolution to investigate the sensitivity of sub-shelf ocean dynamics and ice-shelf melting to the presence of a kilometer-wide rift in proximity of the ice front. We find that (a) the rift curtails water and heat intrusion beneath the ice-shelf base and (b) the basal melting of a rifted ice shelf is on average 20 % lower than for an intact ice shelf under identical forcing. Notably, we calculate a significant reduction in melting rates of up to 30 % near the grounding line of a rifted ice shelf. We therefore posit that rifts and their impact on the sub-shelf dynamics are important to consider in order to accurately reproduce and project pathways of heat intrusion into the ice-shelf cavity. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic The Antarctic Buttress ENVELOPE(-57.083,-57.083,-63.550,-63.550) The Cryosphere 17 6 2261 2283 |
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 M. Poinelli M. Schodlok E. Larour M. Vizcaino R. Riva Can rifts alter ocean dynamics beneath ice shelves? |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Land ice discharge from the Antarctic continent into the ocean is restrained by ice shelves, floating extensions of grounded ice that buttress the glacier outflow. The ongoing thinning of these ice shelves – largely due to enhanced melting at their base in response to global warming – is known to accelerate the release of glacier meltwater into the world oceans, augmenting global sea level. Mechanisms of ocean heat intrusion under the ice base are therefore crucial to project the future of Antarctic ice shelves. Furthermore, ice shelves are weakened by the presence of kilometer-wide full-thickness ice rifts, which are observed all around Antarctica. However, their impact on ocean circulation around and below ice shelves has been largely unexplored as ocean models are commonly characterized by resolutions that are too coarse to resolve their presence. Here, we apply the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model at high resolution to investigate the sensitivity of sub-shelf ocean dynamics and ice-shelf melting to the presence of a kilometer-wide rift in proximity of the ice front. We find that (a) the rift curtails water and heat intrusion beneath the ice-shelf base and (b) the basal melting of a rifted ice shelf is on average 20 % lower than for an intact ice shelf under identical forcing. Notably, we calculate a significant reduction in melting rates of up to 30 % near the grounding line of a rifted ice shelf. We therefore posit that rifts and their impact on the sub-shelf dynamics are important to consider in order to accurately reproduce and project pathways of heat intrusion into the ice-shelf cavity. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Poinelli M. Schodlok E. Larour M. Vizcaino R. Riva |
author_facet |
M. Poinelli M. Schodlok E. Larour M. Vizcaino R. Riva |
author_sort |
M. Poinelli |
title |
Can rifts alter ocean dynamics beneath ice shelves? |
title_short |
Can rifts alter ocean dynamics beneath ice shelves? |
title_full |
Can rifts alter ocean dynamics beneath ice shelves? |
title_fullStr |
Can rifts alter ocean dynamics beneath ice shelves? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Can rifts alter ocean dynamics beneath ice shelves? |
title_sort |
can rifts alter ocean dynamics beneath ice shelves? |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2261-2023 https://doaj.org/article/7b861fed2b014f81b2ed19f7e8aaddca |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-57.083,-57.083,-63.550,-63.550) |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic Buttress |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic Buttress |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 17, Pp 2261-2283 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/2261/2023/tc-17-2261-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-17-2261-2023 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/7b861fed2b014f81b2ed19f7e8aaddca |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2261-2023 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
2261 |
op_container_end_page |
2283 |
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1770271879388463104 |