Antarctic ice shelf potentially stabilized by export of meltwater in surface river
Meltwater stored in ponds and crevasses can weaken and fracture ice shelves, triggering their rapid disintegration. This ice-shelf collapse results in an increased flux of ice from adjacent glaciers and ice streams, thereby raising sea level globally. However, surface rivers forming on ice shelves c...
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ftunivroma3iris:oai:iris.uniroma3.it:11590/353562 2024-02-27T08:34:58+00:00 Antarctic ice shelf potentially stabilized by export of meltwater in surface river Bell R. E. Chu W. Kingslake J. Das I. Tedesco M. Tinto K. J. Zappa C. J. Frezzotti M. Boghosian A. Lee W. S. Bell, R. E. Chu, W. Kingslake, J. Das, I. Tedesco, M. Tinto, K. J. Zappa, C. J. Frezzotti, M. Boghosian, A. Lee, W. S. 2017 http://hdl.handle.net/11590/353562 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22048 http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000399524400035 volume:544 issue:7650 firstpage:344 lastpage:348 numberofpages:5 journal:NATURE http://hdl.handle.net/11590/353562 doi:10.1038/nature22048 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-85018164299 http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html cryosphere hydrology climate change info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2017 ftunivroma3iris https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22048 2024-01-31T17:41:13Z Meltwater stored in ponds and crevasses can weaken and fracture ice shelves, triggering their rapid disintegration. This ice-shelf collapse results in an increased flux of ice from adjacent glaciers and ice streams, thereby raising sea level globally. However, surface rivers forming on ice shelves could potentially export stored meltwater and prevent its destructive effects. Here we present evidence for persistent active drainage networks - interconnected streams, ponds and rivers - on the Nansen Ice Shelf in Antarctica that export a large fraction of the ice shelf's meltwater into the ocean. We find that active drainage has exported water off the ice surface through waterfalls and dolines for more than a century. The surface river terminates in a 130-metre-wide waterfall that can export the entire annual surface melt over the course of seven days. During warmer melt seasons, these drainage networks adapt to changing environmental conditions by remaining active for longer and exporting more water. Similar networks are present on the ice shelf in front of Petermann Glacier, Greenland, but other systems, such as on the Larsen C and Amery Ice Shelves, retain surface water at present. The underlying reasons for export versus retention remain unclear. Nonetheless our results suggest that, in a future warming climate, surface rivers could export melt off the large ice shelves surrounding Antarctica - contrary to present Antarctic ice-sheet models, which assume that meltwater is stored on the ice surface where it triggers ice-shelf disintegration. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Petermann glacier Anagrafe della Ricerca d'Ateneo (Universitá degli studi Roma Tre) Antarctic Greenland Amery ENVELOPE(-94.063,-94.063,56.565,56.565) Nature 544 7650 344 348 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Anagrafe della Ricerca d'Ateneo (Universitá degli studi Roma Tre) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivroma3iris |
language |
English |
topic |
cryosphere hydrology climate change |
spellingShingle |
cryosphere hydrology climate change Bell R. E. Chu W. Kingslake J. Das I. Tedesco M. Tinto K. J. Zappa C. J. Frezzotti M. Boghosian A. Lee W. S. Antarctic ice shelf potentially stabilized by export of meltwater in surface river |
topic_facet |
cryosphere hydrology climate change |
description |
Meltwater stored in ponds and crevasses can weaken and fracture ice shelves, triggering their rapid disintegration. This ice-shelf collapse results in an increased flux of ice from adjacent glaciers and ice streams, thereby raising sea level globally. However, surface rivers forming on ice shelves could potentially export stored meltwater and prevent its destructive effects. Here we present evidence for persistent active drainage networks - interconnected streams, ponds and rivers - on the Nansen Ice Shelf in Antarctica that export a large fraction of the ice shelf's meltwater into the ocean. We find that active drainage has exported water off the ice surface through waterfalls and dolines for more than a century. The surface river terminates in a 130-metre-wide waterfall that can export the entire annual surface melt over the course of seven days. During warmer melt seasons, these drainage networks adapt to changing environmental conditions by remaining active for longer and exporting more water. Similar networks are present on the ice shelf in front of Petermann Glacier, Greenland, but other systems, such as on the Larsen C and Amery Ice Shelves, retain surface water at present. The underlying reasons for export versus retention remain unclear. Nonetheless our results suggest that, in a future warming climate, surface rivers could export melt off the large ice shelves surrounding Antarctica - contrary to present Antarctic ice-sheet models, which assume that meltwater is stored on the ice surface where it triggers ice-shelf disintegration. |
author2 |
Bell, R. E. Chu, W. Kingslake, J. Das, I. Tedesco, M. Tinto, K. J. Zappa, C. J. Frezzotti, M. Boghosian, A. Lee, W. S. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bell R. E. Chu W. Kingslake J. Das I. Tedesco M. Tinto K. J. Zappa C. J. Frezzotti M. Boghosian A. Lee W. S. |
author_facet |
Bell R. E. Chu W. Kingslake J. Das I. Tedesco M. Tinto K. J. Zappa C. J. Frezzotti M. Boghosian A. Lee W. S. |
author_sort |
Bell R. E. |
title |
Antarctic ice shelf potentially stabilized by export of meltwater in surface river |
title_short |
Antarctic ice shelf potentially stabilized by export of meltwater in surface river |
title_full |
Antarctic ice shelf potentially stabilized by export of meltwater in surface river |
title_fullStr |
Antarctic ice shelf potentially stabilized by export of meltwater in surface river |
title_full_unstemmed |
Antarctic ice shelf potentially stabilized by export of meltwater in surface river |
title_sort |
antarctic ice shelf potentially stabilized by export of meltwater in surface river |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11590/353562 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22048 http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-94.063,-94.063,56.565,56.565) |
geographic |
Antarctic Greenland Amery |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Greenland Amery |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Petermann glacier |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Petermann glacier |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000399524400035 volume:544 issue:7650 firstpage:344 lastpage:348 numberofpages:5 journal:NATURE http://hdl.handle.net/11590/353562 doi:10.1038/nature22048 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-85018164299 http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22048 |
container_title |
Nature |
container_volume |
544 |
container_issue |
7650 |
container_start_page |
344 |
op_container_end_page |
348 |
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1792041363973341184 |