Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response
In late March 2011, landfast sea ice (hereafter, “fast ice”) formed in the northern Larsen B embayment and persisted continuously as multi-year fast ice until January 2022. In the 11 years of fast-ice presence, the northern Larsen B glaciers slowed significantly, thickened in their lower reaches, an...
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2024
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:dbba9d391c7840f1b1fc0cca23ec7d9b 2024-09-15T18:12:39+00:00 Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response N. E. Ochwat T. A. Scambos A. F. Banwell R. S. Anderson M. L. Maclennan G. Picard J. A. Shates S. Marinsek L. Margonari M. Truffer E. C. Pettit 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1709-2024 https://doaj.org/article/dbba9d391c7840f1b1fc0cca23ec7d9b EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/1709/2024/tc-18-1709-2024.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-18-1709-2024 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/dbba9d391c7840f1b1fc0cca23ec7d9b The Cryosphere, Vol 18, Pp 1709-1731 (2024) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1709-2024 2024-08-05T17:49:38Z In late March 2011, landfast sea ice (hereafter, “fast ice”) formed in the northern Larsen B embayment and persisted continuously as multi-year fast ice until January 2022. In the 11 years of fast-ice presence, the northern Larsen B glaciers slowed significantly, thickened in their lower reaches, and developed extensive mélange areas, leading to the formation of ice tongues that extended up to 16 km from the 2011 ice fronts. In situ measurements of ice speed on adjacent ice shelf areas spanning 2011 to 2017 show that the fast ice provided significant resistive stress to ice flow. Fast-ice breakout began in late January 2022 and was closely followed by retreat and breakup of both the fast-ice mélange and the glacier ice tongues. We investigate the probable triggers for the loss of fast ice and document the initial upstream glacier responses. The fast-ice breakup is linked to the arrival of a strong ocean swell event ( >1.5 m amplitude; wave period waves >5 s) originating from the northeast. Wave propagation to the ice front was facilitated by a 12-year low in sea ice concentration in the northwestern Weddell Sea, creating a near-ice-free corridor to the open ocean. Remote sensing data in the months following the fast-ice breakout reveals an initial ice flow speed increase ( >2 -fold), elevation loss (9 to 11 m), and rapid calving of floating and grounded ice for the three main embayment glaciers Crane (11 km), Hektoria (25 km), and Green (18 km). Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Shelf Sea ice The Cryosphere Weddell Sea Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles The Cryosphere 18 4 1709 1731 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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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 N. E. Ochwat T. A. Scambos A. F. Banwell R. S. Anderson M. L. Maclennan G. Picard J. A. Shates S. Marinsek L. Margonari M. Truffer E. C. Pettit Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
In late March 2011, landfast sea ice (hereafter, “fast ice”) formed in the northern Larsen B embayment and persisted continuously as multi-year fast ice until January 2022. In the 11 years of fast-ice presence, the northern Larsen B glaciers slowed significantly, thickened in their lower reaches, and developed extensive mélange areas, leading to the formation of ice tongues that extended up to 16 km from the 2011 ice fronts. In situ measurements of ice speed on adjacent ice shelf areas spanning 2011 to 2017 show that the fast ice provided significant resistive stress to ice flow. Fast-ice breakout began in late January 2022 and was closely followed by retreat and breakup of both the fast-ice mélange and the glacier ice tongues. We investigate the probable triggers for the loss of fast ice and document the initial upstream glacier responses. The fast-ice breakup is linked to the arrival of a strong ocean swell event ( >1.5 m amplitude; wave period waves >5 s) originating from the northeast. Wave propagation to the ice front was facilitated by a 12-year low in sea ice concentration in the northwestern Weddell Sea, creating a near-ice-free corridor to the open ocean. Remote sensing data in the months following the fast-ice breakout reveals an initial ice flow speed increase ( >2 -fold), elevation loss (9 to 11 m), and rapid calving of floating and grounded ice for the three main embayment glaciers Crane (11 km), Hektoria (25 km), and Green (18 km). |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
N. E. Ochwat T. A. Scambos A. F. Banwell R. S. Anderson M. L. Maclennan G. Picard J. A. Shates S. Marinsek L. Margonari M. Truffer E. C. Pettit |
author_facet |
N. E. Ochwat T. A. Scambos A. F. Banwell R. S. Anderson M. L. Maclennan G. Picard J. A. Shates S. Marinsek L. Margonari M. Truffer E. C. Pettit |
author_sort |
N. E. Ochwat |
title |
Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
title_short |
Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
title_full |
Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
title_fullStr |
Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
title_full_unstemmed |
Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
title_sort |
triggers of the 2022 larsen b multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1709-2024 https://doaj.org/article/dbba9d391c7840f1b1fc0cca23ec7d9b |
genre |
Ice Shelf Sea ice The Cryosphere Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Ice Shelf Sea ice The Cryosphere Weddell Sea |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 18, Pp 1709-1731 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/1709/2024/tc-18-1709-2024.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-18-1709-2024 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/dbba9d391c7840f1b1fc0cca23ec7d9b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1709-2024 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
18 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1709 |
op_container_end_page |
1731 |
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1810450240410484736 |