Collapse of the Larson Ice Shelf: Cause for Concern or a Natural Process?

• Main Author: Turner, Sam
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: University of Canterbury 2002
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; East Antarctic Ice Sheet; Larsen Ice Shelf; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves; Iceberg*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10092/14035

Temperature rise during the last 30 years has coincided with the disintegration of several ice shelves on the AntalTtic Peninsula. In recent years the retreat and rapid collapse of these shelves has raised questions and debate on the sensitivity of ice shelves to climate change and the role of ice shelves as indicators of this change. Perhaps one of the most dramatic and drastic, if not the most documented retreat has been that of the Larsen Ice Shelf. The Larsen Ice Shelf has been retreating significantly since the 1970s and since this time has lost over 10,000 square kilometres. Many people see climate change and anthropogenic global warming as the cause of the disintegration of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula. The disintegration of shelves like the Larsen Ice Shelf has led to fears of a collapse of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, and rising sea levels. The loss of so much ice from these shelves could mean an altering to the Antarctic Mass Balance, and a change in climate. The Larsen Ice Shelf, the now northern most ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula is one that is more likely to be susceptible to changes in climate. Because of this, the Larson Ice Shelf has been a site of intensive climatic study. In particular, whether major events of iceberg calving are a direct result of rising temperatures and whether global anthropogenic warming has accelerated or even caused the disintegration of the Larsen Ice Shelf. This paper will review literature on the Larson Ice Shelf, looking at explanations for its rapid collapse and the effects of global warming and climate change on ice shelves. Temperature rise during the last 30 years has coincided with the disintegration of several ice shelves on the AntalTtic Peninsula. In recent years the retreat and rapid collapse of these shelves has raised questions and debate on the sensitivity of ice shelves to climate change and the role of ice shelves as indicators of this change. Perhaps one of the most dramatic and drastic, if not the most documented retreat has been that ...