Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf

The collapses of the Larsen A and B ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula in 1995 and 2002 confirm the impact of southward-propagating climate warming in this region. Recent mass and dynamic changes of Larsen B’s southern neighbour Larsen C, the fourth largest ice shelf in Antarctica, may herald a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature Communications
Main Authors: Kulessa, Bernd, Jansen, Daniela, Luckman, Adrian J., King, Edward C., Sammonds, Peter R.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Nature Pub. Group 2014
Subjects:
Article
Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Antarctica
Ice Shelf
Ice Shelves
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3997805
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24751641
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4707
Description
Summary:The collapses of the Larsen A and B ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula in 1995 and 2002 confirm the impact of southward-propagating climate warming in this region. Recent mass and dynamic changes of Larsen B’s southern neighbour Larsen C, the fourth largest ice shelf in Antarctica, may herald a similar instability. Here, using a validated ice-shelf model run in diagnostic mode, constrained by satellite and in situ geophysical data, we identify the nature of this potential instability. We demonstrate that the present-day spatial distribution and orientation of the principal stresses within Larsen C ice shelf are akin to those within pre-collapse Larsen B. When Larsen B’s stabilizing frontal portion was lost in 1995, the unstable remaining shelf accelerated, crumbled and ultimately collapsed. We hypothesize that Larsen C ice shelf may suffer a similar fate if it were not stabilized by warm and mechanically soft marine ice, entrained within narrow suture zones.

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