Large-scale experiments into the tsunamigenic potential of different iceberg calving mechanisms

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Heller, Valentin, Chen, Fan, Brühl, Markus, Gabl, Roman, Chen, Xuexue, Wolters, Guido, Fuchs, Helge
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group UK 2019
• Subjects: Article; greenlandic; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6351686/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30696837; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36634-3

Mass balance analysis of ice sheets is a key component to understand the effects of global warming. A significant component of ice sheet and shelf mass balance is iceberg calving, which can generate large tsunamis endangering human beings and coastal infrastructure. Such iceberg-tsunamis have reached amplitudes of 50 m and destroyed harbours. Calving icebergs interact with the surrounding water through different mechanisms and we investigate five; A: capsizing, B: gravity-dominated fall, C: buoyancy-dominated fall, D: gravity-dominated overturning and E: buoyancy-dominated overturning. Gravity-dominated icebergs essentially fall into the water body whereas buoyancy-dominated icebergs rise to the water surface. We find with unique large-scale laboratory experiments that iceberg-tsunami heights from gravity-dominated mechanisms (B and D) are roughly an order of magnitude larger than from A, C and E. A theoretical model for released iceberg energy supports this finding and the measured wave periods upscaled to Greenlandic outlet glaciers agree with field observations. Whilst existing empirical equations for landslide-tsunamis establish estimates of an upper envelope of the maximum iceberg-tsunami heights, they fail to capture the physics of most iceberg-tsunami mechanisms.