The Role of Ice Shelves in Antarctica, Ice Shelf Variation Across Antarctica and the Mechanisms Behind Ice Retreat

• Main Author: Turnbull, Morag
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: University of Canterbury 2016
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves; Iceberg*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10092/13842

Ice shelves are an important component of Antarctica, they restrict the flow of glaciers at the edge of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) therefore limiting any loss of ice from the ice sheet. Ice shelves across Antarctica are undergoing changes, mostly the retreat of ice. Iceshelf loss in Antarctica is mainly to be a result of basal melting and iceberg calving. As ice shelves act as barriers to the ice sheet, disintegration of ice shelves will have major consequences for the Antarctic Ice Sheet and for global ocean levels. This literature review analyses studies on the changes of ice shelves across Antarctica and the reasons for iceshelf variation.