An equatorward force acting on large floating ice masses: Polfluchtkraft

This study reviews the effects of a force acting upon ice shelves and icebergs arising from the oblateness of the Earth's geoid and the displacement between the center of mass and the center of buoyancy for an object floating on water. The force has been introduced earlier as Polfluchtkraft or...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of Glaciology
Main Authors: Hermann Engelhardt, Michael Engelhardt
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2017
Subjects:
climate change
icebergs
ice/ocean interactions
ice-shelf break-up
ice shelves
Meteorology. Climatology
QC851-999
Annals of Glaciology
Ice Sheet
Ice Shelf
Ice Shelves
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2017.17
https://doaj.org/article/9291bdce87134e9698042b781e3f1af5
Description
Summary:This study reviews the effects of a force acting upon ice shelves and icebergs arising from the oblateness of the Earth's geoid and the displacement between the center of mass and the center of buoyancy for an object floating on water. The force has been introduced earlier as Polfluchtkraft or ‘pole-fleeing force’ by Alfred Wegener and others in the context of continental drift, but it is here applied to floating ice for the first time. It propels icebergs towards the equator, but also tugs on ice shelves making them more likely to break apart in a warming climate with possible consequences for the entire ice sheet.

Similar Items