Meltwater produced by wind-albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf
Surface melt and subsequent firn air depletion can ultimately lead to disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves(1,2) causing grounded glaciers to accelerate(3) and sea level to rise. In the Antarctic Peninsula, foehn winds enhance melting near the grounding line(4), which in the recent past has led to...
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ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/428288 2023-07-23T04:15:40+02:00 Meltwater produced by wind-albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf Lenaerts, J. T. M. Lhermitte, S. Drews, R. Ligtenberg, S. R. M. Berger, S. Helm, V. Smeets, C. J. P. P. van den Broeke, M. R. van de Berg, W. J. van Meijgaard, E. Eijkelboom, M. Eisen, O. Pattyn, F. Marine and Atmospheric Research Sub Dynamics Meteorology ESL General Section 2017-01 application/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/428288 en eng 1758-678X https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/428288 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess Surface mass-balance Supraglacial lakes Sheet Climate Model Firn Melt Sensitivity Evolution Drainage Taverne Letter 2017 ftunivutrecht 2023-07-02T03:56:22Z Surface melt and subsequent firn air depletion can ultimately lead to disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves(1,2) causing grounded glaciers to accelerate(3) and sea level to rise. In the Antarctic Peninsula, foehn winds enhance melting near the grounding line(4), which in the recent past has led to the disintegration of the most northerly ice shelves(5,6). Here, we provide observational and model evidence that this process also occurs over an East Antarctic ice shelf, where meltwater-induced firn air depletion is found in the grounding zone. Unlike the Antarctic Peninsula, where foehn events originate from episodic interaction of the circumpolar westerlies with the topography, in coastal East Antarctica high temperatures are caused by persistent katabatic winds originating from the ice sheet's interior. Katabatic winds warm and mix the air as it flows downward and cause widespread snow erosion, explaining >3 K higher near-surface temperatures in summer and surface melt doubling in the grounding zone compared with its surroundings. Additionally, these winds expose blue ice and firn with lower surface albedo, further enhancing melt. The in situ observation of supraglacial flow and englacial storage of meltwater suggests that ice-shelf grounding zones in East Antarctica, like their Antarctic Peninsula counterparts, are vulnerable to hydrofracturing(7). Manuscript Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Utrecht University Repository Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula East Antarctica The Antarctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utrecht University Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivutrecht |
language |
English |
topic |
Surface mass-balance Supraglacial lakes Sheet Climate Model Firn Melt Sensitivity Evolution Drainage Taverne |
spellingShingle |
Surface mass-balance Supraglacial lakes Sheet Climate Model Firn Melt Sensitivity Evolution Drainage Taverne Lenaerts, J. T. M. Lhermitte, S. Drews, R. Ligtenberg, S. R. M. Berger, S. Helm, V. Smeets, C. J. P. P. van den Broeke, M. R. van de Berg, W. J. van Meijgaard, E. Eijkelboom, M. Eisen, O. Pattyn, F. Meltwater produced by wind-albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf |
topic_facet |
Surface mass-balance Supraglacial lakes Sheet Climate Model Firn Melt Sensitivity Evolution Drainage Taverne |
description |
Surface melt and subsequent firn air depletion can ultimately lead to disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves(1,2) causing grounded glaciers to accelerate(3) and sea level to rise. In the Antarctic Peninsula, foehn winds enhance melting near the grounding line(4), which in the recent past has led to the disintegration of the most northerly ice shelves(5,6). Here, we provide observational and model evidence that this process also occurs over an East Antarctic ice shelf, where meltwater-induced firn air depletion is found in the grounding zone. Unlike the Antarctic Peninsula, where foehn events originate from episodic interaction of the circumpolar westerlies with the topography, in coastal East Antarctica high temperatures are caused by persistent katabatic winds originating from the ice sheet's interior. Katabatic winds warm and mix the air as it flows downward and cause widespread snow erosion, explaining >3 K higher near-surface temperatures in summer and surface melt doubling in the grounding zone compared with its surroundings. Additionally, these winds expose blue ice and firn with lower surface albedo, further enhancing melt. The in situ observation of supraglacial flow and englacial storage of meltwater suggests that ice-shelf grounding zones in East Antarctica, like their Antarctic Peninsula counterparts, are vulnerable to hydrofracturing(7). |
author2 |
Marine and Atmospheric Research Sub Dynamics Meteorology ESL General Section |
format |
Manuscript |
author |
Lenaerts, J. T. M. Lhermitte, S. Drews, R. Ligtenberg, S. R. M. Berger, S. Helm, V. Smeets, C. J. P. P. van den Broeke, M. R. van de Berg, W. J. van Meijgaard, E. Eijkelboom, M. Eisen, O. Pattyn, F. |
author_facet |
Lenaerts, J. T. M. Lhermitte, S. Drews, R. Ligtenberg, S. R. M. Berger, S. Helm, V. Smeets, C. J. P. P. van den Broeke, M. R. van de Berg, W. J. van Meijgaard, E. Eijkelboom, M. Eisen, O. Pattyn, F. |
author_sort |
Lenaerts, J. T. M. |
title |
Meltwater produced by wind-albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf |
title_short |
Meltwater produced by wind-albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf |
title_full |
Meltwater produced by wind-albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf |
title_fullStr |
Meltwater produced by wind-albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf |
title_full_unstemmed |
Meltwater produced by wind-albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf |
title_sort |
meltwater produced by wind-albedo interaction stored in an east antarctic ice shelf |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/428288 |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula East Antarctica The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula East Antarctica The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
op_relation |
1758-678X https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/428288 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
_version_ |
1772176584623521792 |