Calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting
While it has been shown repeatedly that ocean conditions exhibit an important control on the behaviour of grounded tidewater glaciers, modelling studies have focused largely on the effects of basal and surface melting. Here, a finite-element model of stresses near the front of a tidewater glacier is...
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ftunivcam:oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/298283 2024-01-14T10:01:39+01:00 Calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting O'Leary, Martin Christoffersen, Poul 2019-11-01T00:30:32Z application/pdf https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/298283 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.45338 eng eng Copernicus Publications The Cryosphere https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/298283 doi:10.17863/CAM.45338 Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Article 2019 ftunivcam https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.45338 2023-12-21T23:26:41Z While it has been shown repeatedly that ocean conditions exhibit an important control on the behaviour of grounded tidewater glaciers, modelling studies have focused largely on the effects of basal and surface melting. Here, a finite-element model of stresses near the front of a tidewater glacier is used to investigate the effects of frontal melting on calving, independently of the calving criterion used. Applications of the stress model to idealized scenarios reveal that undercutting of the ice front due to frontal melting can drive calving at up to ten times the mean melt rate. Factors which cause increased frontal melt-driven calving include a strong thermal gradient in the ice, and a concentration of frontal melt at the base of the glacier. These properties are typical of both Arctic and Antarctic tidewater glaciers. The finding that frontal melt near the base is a strong driver of calving leads to the conclusion that water temperatures near the bed of the glacier are critically important to the glacier front, and thus the flow of the glacier. These conclusions are robust against changes in the basal boundary condition and the choice of calving criterion, as well as variations in the glacier size or level of crevassing. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Tidewater Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository Antarctic Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcam |
language |
English |
description |
While it has been shown repeatedly that ocean conditions exhibit an important control on the behaviour of grounded tidewater glaciers, modelling studies have focused largely on the effects of basal and surface melting. Here, a finite-element model of stresses near the front of a tidewater glacier is used to investigate the effects of frontal melting on calving, independently of the calving criterion used. Applications of the stress model to idealized scenarios reveal that undercutting of the ice front due to frontal melting can drive calving at up to ten times the mean melt rate. Factors which cause increased frontal melt-driven calving include a strong thermal gradient in the ice, and a concentration of frontal melt at the base of the glacier. These properties are typical of both Arctic and Antarctic tidewater glaciers. The finding that frontal melt near the base is a strong driver of calving leads to the conclusion that water temperatures near the bed of the glacier are critically important to the glacier front, and thus the flow of the glacier. These conclusions are robust against changes in the basal boundary condition and the choice of calving criterion, as well as variations in the glacier size or level of crevassing. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
O'Leary, Martin Christoffersen, Poul |
spellingShingle |
O'Leary, Martin Christoffersen, Poul Calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting |
author_facet |
O'Leary, Martin Christoffersen, Poul |
author_sort |
O'Leary, Martin |
title |
Calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting |
title_short |
Calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting |
title_full |
Calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting |
title_fullStr |
Calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting |
title_full_unstemmed |
Calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting |
title_sort |
calving on tidewater glaciers amplified by submarine frontal melting |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/298283 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.45338 |
geographic |
Antarctic Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Arctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Tidewater |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic Tidewater |
op_relation |
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/298283 doi:10.17863/CAM.45338 |
op_rights |
Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.45338 |
_version_ |
1788067409208279040 |