Actively evolving subglacial conduits and eskers initiate ice shelf channels at an Antarctic grounding line
Ice-shelf channels are long curvilinear tracts of thin ice found on Antarctic ice shelves. Many of them originate near the grounding line, but their formation mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we use ice-penetrating radar data from Roi Baudouin Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, to infer that the m...
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ftleedsuniv:oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:113417 2023-05-15T13:38:35+02:00 Actively evolving subglacial conduits and eskers initiate ice shelf channels at an Antarctic grounding line Drews, R. Pattyn, F. Hewitt, I.J. Ng, F.S.L. Berger, S. Matsuoka, K. Helm, V. Bergeot, N. Favier, L. Neckel, N. 2017-05-09 text https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113417/ https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113417/13/drews_etal_2017.pdf https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113417/14/drews_etal_2017_supplementaryinfo.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15228 en eng Nature Publishing Group https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113417/13/drews_etal_2017.pdf https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113417/14/drews_etal_2017_supplementaryinfo.pdf Drews, R., Pattyn, F., Hewitt, I.J. et al. (7 more authors) (2017) Actively evolving subglacial conduits and eskers initiate ice shelf channels at an Antarctic grounding line. Nature Communications, 8. 15228. cc_by_4 CC-BY Article PeerReviewed 2017 ftleedsuniv https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15228 2023-01-30T21:52:34Z Ice-shelf channels are long curvilinear tracts of thin ice found on Antarctic ice shelves. Many of them originate near the grounding line, but their formation mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we use ice-penetrating radar data from Roi Baudouin Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, to infer that the morphology of several ice-shelf channels is seeded upstream of the grounding line by large basal obstacles indenting the ice from below. We interpret each obstacle as an esker ridge formed from sediments deposited by subglacial water conduits, and calculate that the eskers’ size grows towards the grounding line where deposition rates are maximum. Relict features on the shelf indicate that these linked systems of subglacial conduits and ice-shelf channels have been changing over the past few centuries. Because ice-shelf channels are loci where intense melting occurs to thin an ice shelf, these findings expose a novel link between subglacial drainage, sedimentation and ice-shelf stability. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves White Rose Research Online (Universities of Leeds, Sheffield & York) Antarctic East Antarctica Roi Baudouin ENVELOPE(24.461,24.461,-70.438,-70.438) Nature Communications 8 1 |
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Open Polar |
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White Rose Research Online (Universities of Leeds, Sheffield & York) |
op_collection_id |
ftleedsuniv |
language |
English |
description |
Ice-shelf channels are long curvilinear tracts of thin ice found on Antarctic ice shelves. Many of them originate near the grounding line, but their formation mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we use ice-penetrating radar data from Roi Baudouin Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, to infer that the morphology of several ice-shelf channels is seeded upstream of the grounding line by large basal obstacles indenting the ice from below. We interpret each obstacle as an esker ridge formed from sediments deposited by subglacial water conduits, and calculate that the eskers’ size grows towards the grounding line where deposition rates are maximum. Relict features on the shelf indicate that these linked systems of subglacial conduits and ice-shelf channels have been changing over the past few centuries. Because ice-shelf channels are loci where intense melting occurs to thin an ice shelf, these findings expose a novel link between subglacial drainage, sedimentation and ice-shelf stability. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Drews, R. Pattyn, F. Hewitt, I.J. Ng, F.S.L. Berger, S. Matsuoka, K. Helm, V. Bergeot, N. Favier, L. Neckel, N. |
spellingShingle |
Drews, R. Pattyn, F. Hewitt, I.J. Ng, F.S.L. Berger, S. Matsuoka, K. Helm, V. Bergeot, N. Favier, L. Neckel, N. Actively evolving subglacial conduits and eskers initiate ice shelf channels at an Antarctic grounding line |
author_facet |
Drews, R. Pattyn, F. Hewitt, I.J. Ng, F.S.L. Berger, S. Matsuoka, K. Helm, V. Bergeot, N. Favier, L. Neckel, N. |
author_sort |
Drews, R. |
title |
Actively evolving subglacial conduits and eskers initiate ice shelf channels at an Antarctic grounding line |
title_short |
Actively evolving subglacial conduits and eskers initiate ice shelf channels at an Antarctic grounding line |
title_full |
Actively evolving subglacial conduits and eskers initiate ice shelf channels at an Antarctic grounding line |
title_fullStr |
Actively evolving subglacial conduits and eskers initiate ice shelf channels at an Antarctic grounding line |
title_full_unstemmed |
Actively evolving subglacial conduits and eskers initiate ice shelf channels at an Antarctic grounding line |
title_sort |
actively evolving subglacial conduits and eskers initiate ice shelf channels at an antarctic grounding line |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113417/ https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113417/13/drews_etal_2017.pdf https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113417/14/drews_etal_2017_supplementaryinfo.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15228 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(24.461,24.461,-70.438,-70.438) |
geographic |
Antarctic East Antarctica Roi Baudouin |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic East Antarctica Roi Baudouin |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
op_relation |
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113417/13/drews_etal_2017.pdf https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/113417/14/drews_etal_2017_supplementaryinfo.pdf Drews, R., Pattyn, F., Hewitt, I.J. et al. (7 more authors) (2017) Actively evolving subglacial conduits and eskers initiate ice shelf channels at an Antarctic grounding line. Nature Communications, 8. 15228. |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15228 |
container_title |
Nature Communications |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766108534064283648 |