Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf

Bernd Kulessa (), Daniela Jansen, Adrian J. Luckman, Edward C. King and Peter R. Sammonds
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Bernd Kulessa: Glaciology Group, College of Science, Swansea University
Daniela Jansen: Glaciology Group, College of Science, Swansea University
Adrian J. Luckman: Glaciology Group, College of Science, Swansea University
Edward C. King: British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council
Peter R. Sammonds: Rock and Ice Physics Laboratory and Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling, University College London

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract The collapses of the Larsen A and B ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula in 1995 and 2002 confirm the impact of southward-propagating climate warming in this region. Recent mass and dynamic changes of Larsen B’s southern neighbour Larsen C, the fourth largest ice shelf in Antarctica, may herald a similar instability. Here, using a validated ice-shelf model run in diagnostic mode, constrained by satellite and in situ geophysical data, we identify the nature of this potential instability. We demonstrate that the present-day spatial distribution and orientation of the principal stresses within Larsen C ice shelf are akin to those within pre-collapse Larsen B. When Larsen B’s stabilizing frontal portion was lost in 1995, the unstable remaining shelf accelerated, crumbled and ultimately collapsed. We hypothesize that Larsen C ice shelf may suffer a similar fate if it were not stabilized by warm and mechanically soft marine ice, entrained within narrow suture zones.

Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms4707

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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4707

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