A Predictive Theory for Heat Transport Into Ice Shelf Cavities

Abstract Antarctic ice shelves are losing mass at drastically different rates, primarily due to differing rates of oceanic heat supply to their bases. However, a generalized theory for the inflow of relatively warm water into ice shelf cavities is lacking. This study proposes such a theory based on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: G. Finucane, A. L. Stewart
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024
Subjects:
Physical Oceanography
Cryosphere
ice shelves
sea level rise
Circumpolar deep water
Geophysics. Cosmic physics
QC801-809
Antarc*
Antarctic
Ice Shelf
Ice Shelves
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108196
https://doaj.org/article/802f59dbf4ce49be983dc836e07e8e5c
Description
Summary:Abstract Antarctic ice shelves are losing mass at drastically different rates, primarily due to differing rates of oceanic heat supply to their bases. However, a generalized theory for the inflow of relatively warm water into ice shelf cavities is lacking. This study proposes such a theory based on a geostrophically constrained inflow, combined with a threshold bathymetric elevation, the Highest Unconnected isoBath (HUB), that obstructs warm water access to ice shelf grounding lines. This theory captures ∼ 90% of the variance in melt rates across a suite of idealized process‐oriented ocean/ice shelf simulations with quasi‐randomized geometries. Applied to observations of ice shelf geometries and offshore hydrography, the theory captures ∼80% of the variance in measured ice shelf melt rates. These findings provide a generalized theoretical framework for melt resulting from buoyancy‐driven warm water access to geometrically complex Antarctic ice shelf cavities.

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