Significant marine ice accumulation in the ablation zone beneath an antarctic ice shelf

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Barbara Stenni, M. Dini, Ala Khazendar, Aldino Bondesan, Jean-Louis Tison
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2001
• Subjects: EUTOPIA Alliance; NEANIAS Atmospheric Research Community; Earth-Surface Processes; Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice core; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves
• Online Access: https://www.openaccessrepository.it/record/121995; https://doi.org/10.3189/172756501781832160

AbstractHigh-resolution crystallographic, salinity and isotopic analyses of a 45 m ice core reveal the presence of a thick layer of marine ice near the grounding line of the Nansen Ice Shelf, Antarctica. The anomalous formation of marine ice in a zone assumed to be the site of active basal melting leads us to propose the hypothesis of large basal crevasses as a favorable environment for important marine-ice accretion. This hitherto unexplored possibility is supported by the overall field configuration and by the discrepancy in some ice properties between this core and the marine-ice sections of previous drilling projects. These findings could have important implications for the general stability of ice shelves and their disintegration processes. The specific properties of this core reveal that marine ice is post-genetically deformed.