High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Antarctica's ice shelves are thinning at an increasing rate, affecting their buttressing ability. Channels in the ice shelf base unevenly distribute melting, and their evolution provides insight into changing subglacial and oceanic conditions. Here we used phase-sensitive radar measurements to...
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:513057 2023-05-15T13:49:32+02:00 High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica Marsh, Oliver J. Fricker, Helen A. Siegfried, Matthew R. Christianson, Knut Nicholls, Keith W, Corr, Hugh F. J. Catania, Ginny 2016-01 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/513057/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/513057/1/Marsh_et_al-2016-Geophysical_Research_Letters%20%281%29.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066612 en eng Wiley https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/513057/1/Marsh_et_al-2016-Geophysical_Research_Letters%20%281%29.pdf Marsh, Oliver J.; Fricker, Helen A.; Siegfried, Matthew R.; Christianson, Knut; Nicholls, Keith W, orcid:0000-0002-2188-4509 Corr, Hugh F. J.; Catania, Ginny. 2016 High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Geophysical Research Letters, 43 (1). 250-255. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066612 <https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066612> Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2016 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066612 2023-02-04T19:42:47Z Antarctica's ice shelves are thinning at an increasing rate, affecting their buttressing ability. Channels in the ice shelf base unevenly distribute melting, and their evolution provides insight into changing subglacial and oceanic conditions. Here we used phase-sensitive radar measurements to estimate basal melt rates in a channel beneath the currently stable Ross Ice Shelf. Melt rates of 22.2 ± 0.2 m a−1 (>2500% the overall background rate) were observed 1.7 km seaward of Mercer/Whillans Ice Stream grounding line, close to where subglacial water discharge is expected. Laser altimetry shows a corresponding, steadily deepening surface channel. Two relict channels to the north suggest recent subglacial drainage reorganization beneath Whillans Ice Stream approximately coincident with the shutdown of Kamb Ice Stream. This rapid channel formation implies that shifts in subglacial hydrology may impact ice shelf stability. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Kamb Ice Stream Ross Ice Shelf Whillans Ice Stream Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Ross Ice Shelf Mercer ENVELOPE(65.647,65.647,-70.227,-70.227) Whillans ENVELOPE(-64.250,-64.250,-84.450,-84.450) Whillans Ice Stream ENVELOPE(-145.000,-145.000,-83.667,-83.667) Kamb Ice Stream ENVELOPE(-145.000,-145.000,-82.250,-82.250) Geophysical Research Letters 43 1 250 255 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
Antarctica's ice shelves are thinning at an increasing rate, affecting their buttressing ability. Channels in the ice shelf base unevenly distribute melting, and their evolution provides insight into changing subglacial and oceanic conditions. Here we used phase-sensitive radar measurements to estimate basal melt rates in a channel beneath the currently stable Ross Ice Shelf. Melt rates of 22.2 ± 0.2 m a−1 (>2500% the overall background rate) were observed 1.7 km seaward of Mercer/Whillans Ice Stream grounding line, close to where subglacial water discharge is expected. Laser altimetry shows a corresponding, steadily deepening surface channel. Two relict channels to the north suggest recent subglacial drainage reorganization beneath Whillans Ice Stream approximately coincident with the shutdown of Kamb Ice Stream. This rapid channel formation implies that shifts in subglacial hydrology may impact ice shelf stability. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marsh, Oliver J. Fricker, Helen A. Siegfried, Matthew R. Christianson, Knut Nicholls, Keith W, Corr, Hugh F. J. Catania, Ginny |
spellingShingle |
Marsh, Oliver J. Fricker, Helen A. Siegfried, Matthew R. Christianson, Knut Nicholls, Keith W, Corr, Hugh F. J. Catania, Ginny High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
author_facet |
Marsh, Oliver J. Fricker, Helen A. Siegfried, Matthew R. Christianson, Knut Nicholls, Keith W, Corr, Hugh F. J. Catania, Ginny |
author_sort |
Marsh, Oliver J. |
title |
High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
title_short |
High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
title_full |
High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica |
title_sort |
high basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of ross ice shelf, antarctica |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/513057/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/513057/1/Marsh_et_al-2016-Geophysical_Research_Letters%20%281%29.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066612 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(65.647,65.647,-70.227,-70.227) ENVELOPE(-64.250,-64.250,-84.450,-84.450) ENVELOPE(-145.000,-145.000,-83.667,-83.667) ENVELOPE(-145.000,-145.000,-82.250,-82.250) |
geographic |
Ross Ice Shelf Mercer Whillans Whillans Ice Stream Kamb Ice Stream |
geographic_facet |
Ross Ice Shelf Mercer Whillans Whillans Ice Stream Kamb Ice Stream |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Kamb Ice Stream Ross Ice Shelf Whillans Ice Stream |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Kamb Ice Stream Ross Ice Shelf Whillans Ice Stream |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/513057/1/Marsh_et_al-2016-Geophysical_Research_Letters%20%281%29.pdf Marsh, Oliver J.; Fricker, Helen A.; Siegfried, Matthew R.; Christianson, Knut; Nicholls, Keith W, orcid:0000-0002-2188-4509 Corr, Hugh F. J.; Catania, Ginny. 2016 High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Geophysical Research Letters, 43 (1). 250-255. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066612 <https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066612> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066612 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
43 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
250 |
op_container_end_page |
255 |
_version_ |
1766251524067950592 |