Iceberg calving of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: full-Stokes modeling combined with linear elastic fracture mechanics
Thwaites Glacier (TG), West Antarctica, has been losing mass and retreating rapidly in the past few decades. Here, we present a study of its calving dynamics combining a two-dimensional flow-band full-Stokes (FS) model of its viscous flow with linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) theory to model...
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Copernicus Publications
2017
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f1ed590e8c7f4fddae8530ea9df9368d 2023-05-15T13:46:36+02:00 Iceberg calving of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: full-Stokes modeling combined with linear elastic fracture mechanics H. Yu E. Rignot M. Morlighem H. Seroussi 2017-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1283-2017 https://doaj.org/article/f1ed590e8c7f4fddae8530ea9df9368d EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.the-cryosphere.net/11/1283/2017/tc-11-1283-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-11-1283-2017 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/f1ed590e8c7f4fddae8530ea9df9368d The Cryosphere, Vol 11, Pp 1283-1296 (2017) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1283-2017 2022-12-30T23:39:48Z Thwaites Glacier (TG), West Antarctica, has been losing mass and retreating rapidly in the past few decades. Here, we present a study of its calving dynamics combining a two-dimensional flow-band full-Stokes (FS) model of its viscous flow with linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) theory to model crevasse propagation and ice fracturing. We compare the results with those obtained with the higher-order (HO) and the shallow-shelf approximation (SSA) models coupled with LEFM. We find that FS/LEFM produces surface and bottom crevasses that are consistent with the distribution of depth and width of surface and bottom crevasses observed by NASA's Operation IceBridge radar depth sounder and laser altimeter, whereas HO/LEFM and SSA/LEFM do not generate crevasses that are consistent with observations. We attribute the difference to the nonhydrostatic condition of ice near the grounding line, which facilitates crevasse formation and is accounted for by the FS model but not by the HO or SSA models. We find that calving is enhanced when pre-existing surface crevasses are present, when the ice shelf is shortened or when the ice shelf front is undercut. The role of undercutting depends on the timescale of calving events. It is more prominent for glaciers with rapid calving rates than for glaciers with slow calving rates. Glaciers extending into a shorter ice shelf are more vulnerable to calving than glaciers developing a long ice shelf, especially as the ice front retreats close to the grounding line region, which leads to a positive feedback to calving events. We conclude that the FS/LEFM combination yields substantial improvements in capturing the stress field near the grounding line of a glacier for constraining crevasse formation and iceberg calving. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Thwaites Glacier West Antarctica Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Thwaites Glacier ENVELOPE(-106.750,-106.750,-75.500,-75.500) West Antarctica The Cryosphere 11 3 1283 1296 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
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 H. Yu E. Rignot M. Morlighem H. Seroussi Iceberg calving of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: full-Stokes modeling combined with linear elastic fracture mechanics |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Thwaites Glacier (TG), West Antarctica, has been losing mass and retreating rapidly in the past few decades. Here, we present a study of its calving dynamics combining a two-dimensional flow-band full-Stokes (FS) model of its viscous flow with linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) theory to model crevasse propagation and ice fracturing. We compare the results with those obtained with the higher-order (HO) and the shallow-shelf approximation (SSA) models coupled with LEFM. We find that FS/LEFM produces surface and bottom crevasses that are consistent with the distribution of depth and width of surface and bottom crevasses observed by NASA's Operation IceBridge radar depth sounder and laser altimeter, whereas HO/LEFM and SSA/LEFM do not generate crevasses that are consistent with observations. We attribute the difference to the nonhydrostatic condition of ice near the grounding line, which facilitates crevasse formation and is accounted for by the FS model but not by the HO or SSA models. We find that calving is enhanced when pre-existing surface crevasses are present, when the ice shelf is shortened or when the ice shelf front is undercut. The role of undercutting depends on the timescale of calving events. It is more prominent for glaciers with rapid calving rates than for glaciers with slow calving rates. Glaciers extending into a shorter ice shelf are more vulnerable to calving than glaciers developing a long ice shelf, especially as the ice front retreats close to the grounding line region, which leads to a positive feedback to calving events. We conclude that the FS/LEFM combination yields substantial improvements in capturing the stress field near the grounding line of a glacier for constraining crevasse formation and iceberg calving. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
H. Yu E. Rignot M. Morlighem H. Seroussi |
author_facet |
H. Yu E. Rignot M. Morlighem H. Seroussi |
author_sort |
H. Yu |
title |
Iceberg calving of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: full-Stokes modeling combined with linear elastic fracture mechanics |
title_short |
Iceberg calving of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: full-Stokes modeling combined with linear elastic fracture mechanics |
title_full |
Iceberg calving of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: full-Stokes modeling combined with linear elastic fracture mechanics |
title_fullStr |
Iceberg calving of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: full-Stokes modeling combined with linear elastic fracture mechanics |
title_full_unstemmed |
Iceberg calving of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: full-Stokes modeling combined with linear elastic fracture mechanics |
title_sort |
iceberg calving of thwaites glacier, west antarctica: full-stokes modeling combined with linear elastic fracture mechanics |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1283-2017 https://doaj.org/article/f1ed590e8c7f4fddae8530ea9df9368d |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-106.750,-106.750,-75.500,-75.500) |
geographic |
Thwaites Glacier West Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
Thwaites Glacier West Antarctica |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Thwaites Glacier West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Thwaites Glacier West Antarctica |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 11, Pp 1283-1296 (2017) |
op_relation |
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/11/1283/2017/tc-11-1283-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-11-1283-2017 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/f1ed590e8c7f4fddae8530ea9df9368d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1283-2017 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1283 |
op_container_end_page |
1296 |
_version_ |
1766244474331070464 |