Parameterizing Tabular‐Iceberg Decay in an Ocean Model
Abstract Large tabular icebergs account for the majority of ice mass calved from Antarctic ice shelves, but are omitted from climate models. Specifically, these models do not account for iceberg breakup and as a result, modeled large icebergs could drift to low latitudes. Here, we develop a physical...
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American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002869 https://doaj.org/article/cb630366f95c4f75a56fa519d20e16c1 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:cb630366f95c4f75a56fa519d20e16c1 2023-05-15T13:45:46+02:00 Parameterizing Tabular‐Iceberg Decay in an Ocean Model A. Huth A. Adcroft O. Sergienko 2022-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002869 https://doaj.org/article/cb630366f95c4f75a56fa519d20e16c1 EN eng American Geophysical Union (AGU) https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002869 https://doaj.org/toc/1942-2466 1942-2466 doi:10.1029/2021MS002869 https://doaj.org/article/cb630366f95c4f75a56fa519d20e16c1 Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol 14, Iss 3, Pp n/a-n/a (2022) iceberg breakup footloose mechanism edge‐wasting Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002869 2022-12-30T23:30:08Z Abstract Large tabular icebergs account for the majority of ice mass calved from Antarctic ice shelves, but are omitted from climate models. Specifically, these models do not account for iceberg breakup and as a result, modeled large icebergs could drift to low latitudes. Here, we develop a physically based parameterization of iceberg breakup based on the “footloose mechanism” suitable for climate models. This mechanism describes breakup of ice pieces from the iceberg edges triggered by buoyancy forces associated with a submerged ice foot fringing the iceberg. This foot develops as a result of ocean‐induced melt and erosion of the iceberg freeboard explicitly parameterized in the model. We then use an elastic beam model to determine when the foot is large enough to trigger calving, as well as the size of each child iceberg, which is controlled with the ice stiffness parameter. We test the breakup parameterization with a realistic large iceberg calving‐size distribution in the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory OM4 ocean/sea‐ice model and obtain simulated iceberg trajectories and areas that closely match observations. Thus, the footloose mechanism appears to play a major role in iceberg decay that was previously unaccounted for in iceberg models. We also find that varying the size of the broken ice bits can influence the iceberg meltwater distribution more than physically realistic variations to the footloose decay rate. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Ice Shelves Iceberg* Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems 14 3 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
iceberg breakup footloose mechanism edge‐wasting Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
iceberg breakup footloose mechanism edge‐wasting Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 A. Huth A. Adcroft O. Sergienko Parameterizing Tabular‐Iceberg Decay in an Ocean Model |
topic_facet |
iceberg breakup footloose mechanism edge‐wasting Physical geography GB3-5030 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
Abstract Large tabular icebergs account for the majority of ice mass calved from Antarctic ice shelves, but are omitted from climate models. Specifically, these models do not account for iceberg breakup and as a result, modeled large icebergs could drift to low latitudes. Here, we develop a physically based parameterization of iceberg breakup based on the “footloose mechanism” suitable for climate models. This mechanism describes breakup of ice pieces from the iceberg edges triggered by buoyancy forces associated with a submerged ice foot fringing the iceberg. This foot develops as a result of ocean‐induced melt and erosion of the iceberg freeboard explicitly parameterized in the model. We then use an elastic beam model to determine when the foot is large enough to trigger calving, as well as the size of each child iceberg, which is controlled with the ice stiffness parameter. We test the breakup parameterization with a realistic large iceberg calving‐size distribution in the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory OM4 ocean/sea‐ice model and obtain simulated iceberg trajectories and areas that closely match observations. Thus, the footloose mechanism appears to play a major role in iceberg decay that was previously unaccounted for in iceberg models. We also find that varying the size of the broken ice bits can influence the iceberg meltwater distribution more than physically realistic variations to the footloose decay rate. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. Huth A. Adcroft O. Sergienko |
author_facet |
A. Huth A. Adcroft O. Sergienko |
author_sort |
A. Huth |
title |
Parameterizing Tabular‐Iceberg Decay in an Ocean Model |
title_short |
Parameterizing Tabular‐Iceberg Decay in an Ocean Model |
title_full |
Parameterizing Tabular‐Iceberg Decay in an Ocean Model |
title_fullStr |
Parameterizing Tabular‐Iceberg Decay in an Ocean Model |
title_full_unstemmed |
Parameterizing Tabular‐Iceberg Decay in an Ocean Model |
title_sort |
parameterizing tabular‐iceberg decay in an ocean model |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002869 https://doaj.org/article/cb630366f95c4f75a56fa519d20e16c1 |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Shelves Iceberg* Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Shelves Iceberg* Sea ice |
op_source |
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Vol 14, Iss 3, Pp n/a-n/a (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002869 https://doaj.org/toc/1942-2466 1942-2466 doi:10.1029/2021MS002869 https://doaj.org/article/cb630366f95c4f75a56fa519d20e16c1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002869 |
container_title |
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
3 |
_version_ |
1766230694003998720 |