Retreat instability of tidewater glaciers and marine ice sheets

• Main Author: Vieli, Andreas
• Other Authors: Haeberli, Wilfried, Whiteman, Colin, Haeberli, W ( Wilfried ), Whiteman, C ( Colin )
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2015
• Subjects: Institute of Geography; 910 Geography & travel; glacier; glaciers; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelves; Tidewater; Alaska
• Online Access: https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/139516/; https://www.zora.uzh.ch/139516; https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-394849-6.00019-6

The terminus dynamics of tidewater glaciers and marine-based ice sheets are strongly affected by the process of calving and water depth at their termini, resulting in an unstable retreat behavior and accelerated mass loss related to submarine overdeepenings. The governing controls and existing approaches related to this dynamic instability are discussed in this chapter in relation to the Columbia Glacier in Alaska and numerical modeling experiments. The related marine ice sheet instability is further explained, together with the stabilizing influence of floating ice tongues and ice shelves on the grounding line behavior. The chapter concludes with wider implications and future challenges of this dynamic instability as a hazard, such as sea-level rise and accelerated discharge of icebergs.