Seawater softening of suture zones inhibits fracture propagation in Antarctic ice shelves

Suture zones are abundant on Antarctic ice shelves and widely observed to impede fracture propagation. Here we show that fracture detainment is principally controlled by the zones’ enhanced seawater contents, reducing fracture-driving stresses by orders of magnitude and therefore greatly enhancing s...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature Communications
Main Authors: Bernd Kulessa, Adam D. Booth, Martin O’Leary, Daniel McGrath, Edward C. King, Adrian J. Luckman, Paul R. Holland, Daniela Jansen, Suzanne L. Bevan, Sarah S. Thompson, Bryn Hubbard
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2019
Subjects:
Science
Q
Antarctic
Antarc*
Ice Shelves
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13539-x
https://doaj.org/article/c11fff1dcaa7489590ba33212e22ec80
Description
Summary:Suture zones are abundant on Antarctic ice shelves and widely observed to impede fracture propagation. Here we show that fracture detainment is principally controlled by the zones’ enhanced seawater contents, reducing fracture-driving stresses by orders of magnitude and therefore greatly enhancing stability.

Similar Items