Direct measurements of ice-shelf flexure caused by surface meltwater ponding and drainage
Global sea-level rise is caused, in part, by more rapid ice discharge from Antarctica, following the removal of the restraining forces of floating ice-shelves after their break-up. A trigger of ice-shelf break-up is thought to be stress variations associated with surface meltwater ponding and draina...
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ftunicolboulder:oai:scholar.colorado.edu:libr_oafund-1105 2023-05-15T13:49:37+02:00 Direct measurements of ice-shelf flexure caused by surface meltwater ponding and drainage Banwell, Alison Willis, Ian C Macdonald, Grant Goodsell, Becky MacAyeal, Doug R 2019-02-13T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholar.colorado.edu/libr_oafund/102 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1105&context=libr_oafund unknown CU Scholar https://scholar.colorado.edu/libr_oafund/102 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1105&context=libr_oafund University Libraries Open Access Fund Supported Publications Glaciology text 2019 ftunicolboulder 2019-05-03T23:29:23Z Global sea-level rise is caused, in part, by more rapid ice discharge from Antarctica, following the removal of the restraining forces of floating ice-shelves after their break-up. A trigger of ice-shelf break-up is thought to be stress variations associated with surface meltwater ponding and drainage, causing flexure and fracture. But until now, there have been no direct measurements of these processes. Here, we present field data from the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica, showing that the filling, to ~2 m depth, and subsequent draining, by overflow and channel incision, of four surface lakes causes pronounced and immediate ice-shelf flexure over multiple-week timescales. The magnitude of the vertical ice-shelf deflection reaches maxima of ~1 m at the lake centres, declining to zero at distances ofmodels, which currently do not simulate ice-shelf break-up due to meltwater loading and unloading. Text Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves McMurdo Ice Shelf University of Colorado, Boulder: CU Scholar McMurdo Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(166.500,166.500,-78.000,-78.000) |
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Open Polar |
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University of Colorado, Boulder: CU Scholar |
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ftunicolboulder |
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unknown |
topic |
Glaciology |
spellingShingle |
Glaciology Banwell, Alison Willis, Ian C Macdonald, Grant Goodsell, Becky MacAyeal, Doug R Direct measurements of ice-shelf flexure caused by surface meltwater ponding and drainage |
topic_facet |
Glaciology |
description |
Global sea-level rise is caused, in part, by more rapid ice discharge from Antarctica, following the removal of the restraining forces of floating ice-shelves after their break-up. A trigger of ice-shelf break-up is thought to be stress variations associated with surface meltwater ponding and drainage, causing flexure and fracture. But until now, there have been no direct measurements of these processes. Here, we present field data from the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica, showing that the filling, to ~2 m depth, and subsequent draining, by overflow and channel incision, of four surface lakes causes pronounced and immediate ice-shelf flexure over multiple-week timescales. The magnitude of the vertical ice-shelf deflection reaches maxima of ~1 m at the lake centres, declining to zero at distances ofmodels, which currently do not simulate ice-shelf break-up due to meltwater loading and unloading. |
format |
Text |
author |
Banwell, Alison Willis, Ian C Macdonald, Grant Goodsell, Becky MacAyeal, Doug R |
author_facet |
Banwell, Alison Willis, Ian C Macdonald, Grant Goodsell, Becky MacAyeal, Doug R |
author_sort |
Banwell, Alison |
title |
Direct measurements of ice-shelf flexure caused by surface meltwater ponding and drainage |
title_short |
Direct measurements of ice-shelf flexure caused by surface meltwater ponding and drainage |
title_full |
Direct measurements of ice-shelf flexure caused by surface meltwater ponding and drainage |
title_fullStr |
Direct measurements of ice-shelf flexure caused by surface meltwater ponding and drainage |
title_full_unstemmed |
Direct measurements of ice-shelf flexure caused by surface meltwater ponding and drainage |
title_sort |
direct measurements of ice-shelf flexure caused by surface meltwater ponding and drainage |
publisher |
CU Scholar |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://scholar.colorado.edu/libr_oafund/102 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1105&context=libr_oafund |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(166.500,166.500,-78.000,-78.000) |
geographic |
McMurdo Ice Shelf |
geographic_facet |
McMurdo Ice Shelf |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves McMurdo Ice Shelf |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves McMurdo Ice Shelf |
op_source |
University Libraries Open Access Fund Supported Publications |
op_relation |
https://scholar.colorado.edu/libr_oafund/102 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1105&context=libr_oafund |
_version_ |
1766251885240516608 |