On the Disintegration of Ice Shelves: The Role of Fracture

• Main Author: Hughes, Terence J.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@UMaine 1983
• Subjects: Earth Sciences; Antarctic; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; Barrett; Weertman; Clough; Antarc*; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ers_facpub/63; https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1062&context=ers_facpub

Crevasses can be ignored in studying the dynamics of most glaciers because they are only about 20 m deep, a small fraction of ice thickness. In ice shelves, however, s urface crevasses 20 m deep often reach sealevel and bottom crevasses can move upward to sea-level (Clough, 1974; Weertman, 1980). Th...