Ocean-ice shelf interaction in East Antarctica
Assessments of the Antarctic contribution to future sea level rise have generally focused on ice loss in West Antarctica. This focus was motivated by glaciological and oceanographic observations that showed ocean warming was driving loss of ice mass from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Paleocli...
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:406609 2023-07-30T03:55:58+02:00 Ocean-ice shelf interaction in East Antarctica Silvano, A. Rintoul, S.R. Herraiz-Borreguero, L. 2016 text https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/406609/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/406609/1/29_4_silvano.pdf en English eng https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/406609/1/29_4_silvano.pdf Silvano, A., Rintoul, S.R. and Herraiz-Borreguero, L. (2016) Ocean-ice shelf interaction in East Antarctica. Oceanography, 29 (4), 130-143. (doi:10.5670/oceanog.2016.105 <http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.105>). other Article PeerReviewed 2016 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.105 2023-07-09T22:13:40Z Assessments of the Antarctic contribution to future sea level rise have generally focused on ice loss in West Antarctica. This focus was motivated by glaciological and oceanographic observations that showed ocean warming was driving loss of ice mass from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Paleoclimate studies confirmed that ice discharge from West Antarctica contributed several meters to sea level during past warm periods. On the other hand, the much larger East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) was generally considered to be relatively stable because of being largely grounded above sea level and therefore protected from ocean heat flux. However, recent studies suggest that a large part of the EAIS is grounded well below sea level and that the EAIS also retreated and contributed several meters to sea level rise during past warm periods. We use ocean observations from three ice shelf systems to illustrate the variety of ocean-ice shelf interactions taking place in East Antarctica and to discuss the potential vulnerability of East Antarctic ice shelves to ocean heat flux. The Amery and the Mertz are “cold cavity” ice shelves that exhibit relatively low area-averaged basal melt rates, although substantial melting and refreezing occurs beneath the large and deep Amery Ice Shelf. In contrast, new oceanographic measurements near the Totten Ice Shelf show that warm water enters the sub-ice-shelf cavity and drives rapid basal melting, as is seen in West Antarctica. Totten Glacier is of particular interest because it holds a marine-based ice volume equivalent to at least 3.5 m of global sea level rise, an amount comparable to the entire marine-based WAIS, and recent glaciological measurements show the grounded portion of Totten Glacier is thinning and the grounding line is retreating. Multiple lines of evidence support the hypothesis that parts of the EAIS are more dynamic than once thought. Given that the EAIS contains a volume of marine-based ice equivalent to 19 m of global sea level rise, the potential for ocean-driven ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Amery Ice Shelf Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Totten Glacier Totten Ice Shelf West Antarctica University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Amery ENVELOPE(-94.063,-94.063,56.565,56.565) Amery Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(71.000,71.000,-69.750,-69.750) Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet East Antarctica The Antarctic Totten Glacier ENVELOPE(116.333,116.333,-66.833,-66.833) West Antarctic Ice Sheet West Antarctica Oceanography 29 4 130 143 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
op_collection_id |
ftsouthampton |
language |
English |
description |
Assessments of the Antarctic contribution to future sea level rise have generally focused on ice loss in West Antarctica. This focus was motivated by glaciological and oceanographic observations that showed ocean warming was driving loss of ice mass from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Paleoclimate studies confirmed that ice discharge from West Antarctica contributed several meters to sea level during past warm periods. On the other hand, the much larger East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) was generally considered to be relatively stable because of being largely grounded above sea level and therefore protected from ocean heat flux. However, recent studies suggest that a large part of the EAIS is grounded well below sea level and that the EAIS also retreated and contributed several meters to sea level rise during past warm periods. We use ocean observations from three ice shelf systems to illustrate the variety of ocean-ice shelf interactions taking place in East Antarctica and to discuss the potential vulnerability of East Antarctic ice shelves to ocean heat flux. The Amery and the Mertz are “cold cavity” ice shelves that exhibit relatively low area-averaged basal melt rates, although substantial melting and refreezing occurs beneath the large and deep Amery Ice Shelf. In contrast, new oceanographic measurements near the Totten Ice Shelf show that warm water enters the sub-ice-shelf cavity and drives rapid basal melting, as is seen in West Antarctica. Totten Glacier is of particular interest because it holds a marine-based ice volume equivalent to at least 3.5 m of global sea level rise, an amount comparable to the entire marine-based WAIS, and recent glaciological measurements show the grounded portion of Totten Glacier is thinning and the grounding line is retreating. Multiple lines of evidence support the hypothesis that parts of the EAIS are more dynamic than once thought. Given that the EAIS contains a volume of marine-based ice equivalent to 19 m of global sea level rise, the potential for ocean-driven ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Silvano, A. Rintoul, S.R. Herraiz-Borreguero, L. |
spellingShingle |
Silvano, A. Rintoul, S.R. Herraiz-Borreguero, L. Ocean-ice shelf interaction in East Antarctica |
author_facet |
Silvano, A. Rintoul, S.R. Herraiz-Borreguero, L. |
author_sort |
Silvano, A. |
title |
Ocean-ice shelf interaction in East Antarctica |
title_short |
Ocean-ice shelf interaction in East Antarctica |
title_full |
Ocean-ice shelf interaction in East Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Ocean-ice shelf interaction in East Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ocean-ice shelf interaction in East Antarctica |
title_sort |
ocean-ice shelf interaction in east antarctica |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/406609/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/406609/1/29_4_silvano.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-94.063,-94.063,56.565,56.565) ENVELOPE(71.000,71.000,-69.750,-69.750) ENVELOPE(116.333,116.333,-66.833,-66.833) |
geographic |
Amery Amery Ice Shelf Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet East Antarctica The Antarctic Totten Glacier West Antarctic Ice Sheet West Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
Amery Amery Ice Shelf Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet East Antarctica The Antarctic Totten Glacier West Antarctic Ice Sheet West Antarctica |
genre |
Amery Ice Shelf Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Totten Glacier Totten Ice Shelf West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Amery Ice Shelf Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Totten Glacier Totten Ice Shelf West Antarctica |
op_relation |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/406609/1/29_4_silvano.pdf Silvano, A., Rintoul, S.R. and Herraiz-Borreguero, L. (2016) Ocean-ice shelf interaction in East Antarctica. Oceanography, 29 (4), 130-143. (doi:10.5670/oceanog.2016.105 <http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.105>). |
op_rights |
other |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.105 |
container_title |
Oceanography |
container_volume |
29 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
130 |
op_container_end_page |
143 |
_version_ |
1772810384529424384 |