scholarly journals Annual cycle in flow of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica: contribution of variable basal melting

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (259) ◽  
pp. 861-875
Author(s):  
Emilie Klein ◽  
Cyrille Mosbeux ◽  
Peter D. Bromirski ◽  
Laurie Padman ◽  
Yehuda Bock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Velocity Anomaly ◽  
Seasonal Flow ◽  
Dynamic Loss ◽  
Basal Melting

AbstractIce shelves play a critical role in modulating dynamic loss of ice from the grounded portion of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and its contribution to sea-level rise. Measurements of ice-shelf motion provide insights into processes modifying buttressing. Here we investigate the effect of seasonal variability of basal melting on ice flow of Ross Ice Shelf. Velocities were measured from November 2015 to December 2016 at 12 GPS stations deployed from the ice front to 430 km upstream. The flow-parallel velocity anomaly at each station, relative to the annual mean, was small during early austral summer (November–January), negative during February–April, and positive during austral winter (May–September). The maximum velocity anomaly reached several metres per year at most stations. We used a 2-D ice-sheet model of the RIS and its grounded tributaries to explore the seasonal response of the ice sheet to time-varying basal melt rates. We find that melt-rate response to changes in summer upper-ocean heating near the ice front will affect the future flow of RIS and its tributary glaciers. However, modelled seasonal flow variations from increased summer basal melting near the ice front are much smaller than observed, suggesting that other as-yet-unidentified seasonal processes are currently dominant.

Representation of basal melting in idealised coupled ice sheet ocean models

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Zhao ◽  
Rupert Gladstone ◽  
Ben Galton-Fenzi ◽  
David Gwyther
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Periodic Pattern ◽  
Regional Ocean Modeling System ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Ocean Models ◽  
Basal Melting

<p>The ocean-driven basal melting has important implications for the stability of ice shelves in Antarctic, which largely affects the ice sheet mass balance, ocean circulation, and subsequently global sea level rise. Due to the limited observations in the ice shelf cavities, the couple ice sheet ocean models have been playing a critical role in examining the processes governing basal melting. In this study we use the Framework for Ice Sheet-Ocean Coupling (FISOC) to couple the Elmer/Ice full-stokes ice sheet model and the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) ocean model to model ice shelf/ocean interactions for an idealised three-dimensional domain. Experiments followed the coupled ice sheet–ocean experiments under the first phase of the Marine Ice Sheet–Ocean Model Intercomparison Project (MISOMIP1). A periodic pattern in the simulated mean basal melting rates is found to be highly consistent with the maximum barotropic stream function and also the grounding line retreat row by row,  which is likely to be related with the gyre break down near the grounding line caused by some non-physical instability events from the ocean bottom. Sensitivity tests are carried out, showing that this periodic pattern is not sensitive to the choice of couple time intervals and horizontal eddy viscosities but sensitive to vertical resolution in the ocean model, the chosen critical water column thickness in the wet-dry scheme, and the tracer properties for the nudging dry cells at the ice-ocean interface boundary. Further simulations are necessary to better explain the mechanism involved in the couple ice-ocean system, which is very significant for its application on the realistic ice-ocean systems in polar regions.</p>

Seasonal flow variations of Ross Ice Shelf (Antarctica): from observations to modeling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyrille Mosbeux ◽  
Laurence Padman ◽  
Emilie Klein ◽  
Peter Bromirski ◽  
Scott Springer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ocean Modeling ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Seasonal Flow ◽  
Global Sea Level

<p>Ice mass loss from both Antarctic Ice Sheet is increasing, accelerating its contribution to global sea level rise. Interactions between the ice shelves (the floating portions of the ice sheet) and the ocean are key processes in this mass loss. The large Ross Ice Shelf is presently stable but buttresses grounded ice equivalent to about 12 m of global sea level, and geological evidence points to large and sometimes rapid past changes. Recent ocean modeling and observations show that seasonal inflows of warmed upper-ocean water under a thin-ice corridor from Ross Island to Minna Bluff and at the ice front can produce locally high melt rates each summer, suggesting that future increases in summer upper-ocean ocean warming north of the ice front could accelerate ice-shelf flow speeds and mass loss. Recent GPS observations of Ross Ice Shelf velocity have shown seasonal flow variations of several meters per year over a large part of the ice shelf, accelerating in summer and decelerating in winter. A similar seasonal variability has been observed over the floating extension of Byrd glacier (one of the major tributary glaciers of Ross Ice Shelf) by processing Antarctic image pairs in the ITS_LIVE dataset. However, ice-sheet simulations driven by realistic annual cycles of basal melt rates near the ice front produce much smaller seasonal variations than observed, suggesting that other processes could be at play. Here, we investigate a new potential mechanism for a seasonal signal in ice flow: variations of sea surface height (SSH) driven by seasonal changes in thermodynamic and atmospheric forcing of ocean state under the ice shelf. Model annual cycle of SSH under Ross Ice Shelf has an amplitude of up to ~20 cm, with substantial spatial variability. These variations of sea level, similarly to tidal signal but with a longer period, can lead to changes in driving stress over the ice shelf as well as a migration of the grounding line due to hydrostatic adjustment and visco-elastic bending of the ice shelf in the grounding zone. By simulating these SSH variations in an ice-sheet model, we more accurately reproduce the variations observed at GPS stations on Ross Ice Shelf.</p>

Two ice shelf populations revealed in new gravity- derived bathymetry for the Thwaites, Crosson and Dotson ice shelves

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Jordan ◽  
David Porter ◽  
Kirsty Tinto ◽  
Romain Millan ◽  
Atsuhiro Muto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Blind Spot ◽  
Airborne Gravity ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Cavity Thickness ◽  
Basal Melting

<p>Ice shelf buttressing plays a critical role in the long-term stability of ice sheets. The underlying bathymetry and cavity thickness therefore is a key to accurate models of future ice sheet evolution. However, direct observation of sub-ice shelf bathymetry is time consuming, logistically risky, and in some areas simply not possible, meaning there is a blind-spot in our understanding of this key system. Here we use airborne gravity anomaly data to provide new estimates of sub-ice shelf bathymetry outboard of the rapidly changing West Antarctic Thwaites Glacier, and beneath the adjacent Dotson and Crosson Ice Shelves. These regions are of especial interest as the low-lying inland reverse slope of the Thwaites glacier system makes it vulnerable to collapse through marine ice sheet instability, with rapid grounding-line retreat observed since 1993 suggesting this process may be underway. Our results confirm a major marine channel > 800 m deep extends to the front of Thwaites Glacier, while the adjacent ice shelves are underlain by more complex bathymetry. Comparison of our new bathymetry with ice shelf draft reveals that ice shelves formed since 1993 comprise a distinct population where the draft conforms closely to the underlying bathymetry, unlike the older ice shelves which show a more uniform depth of the ice base. This indicates that despite rapid basal melting in some areas, these “new” ice shelves are not yet in equilibrium with the underlying ocean system. We propose qualitative models of how this transient ice-shelf configuration may have developed, but further investigation is required to constrain the longevity and full impact of these newly recognised systems.</p>

scholarly journals A High-Resolution Antarctic Grounding Zone Product from ICESat-2 Laser Altimetry

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian Li ◽  
Geoffrey Dawson ◽  
Stephen Chuter ◽  
Jonathan Bamber
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Laser Altimetry ◽  
Amundsen Sea ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
And Migration

Abstract. The Antarctic grounding zone, which is the transition between the fully grounded ice sheet to freely floating ice shelf, plays a critical role in ice sheet instability, mass budget calculations and ice sheet model projections. It is therefore important to continuously monitor its location and migration over time. Here we present the first ICESat-2-derived high-resolution grounding zone product of the Antarctica Ice Sheet, including three important boundaries: the inland limit of tidal flexure (Point F), inshore limit of hydrostatic equilibrium (Point H) and the break-in-slope (Point Ib). This dataset was derived from automated techniques developed in this study, using ICESat-2 laser altimetry repeat tracks between 30 March 2019 and 30 September 2020. The new grounding zone product has a near complete coverage of the Antarctica Ice Sheet with a total of 21346 Point F, 18149 Point H and 36765 Point Ib identified, including the difficult to survey grounding zones, such as the fast-flowing glaciers draining into the Amundsen Sea Embayment. The locations of newly derived ICESat-2 landward limit of tidal flexure agree well with the most recent differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR) observations in 2018, with the mean absolute separation and standard deviation of 0.02 and 0.02 km, respectively. By comparing the ICESat-2-derived grounding zone with the previous grounding zone products, we find up-to 15 km grounding line retreat on the Crary Ice Rise of Ross Ice Shelf and the pervasive landward grounding line migration along the Amundsen Sea Embayment during the past two decades. We also identify the presence of ice plain on the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and the influence of oscillating ocean tides on the grounding zone migration. The product derived from this study is available at https://doi.org/10.5523/bris.bnqqyngt89eo26qk8keckglww (Li et al., 2021) and is archived and maintained at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

scholarly journals New gravity-derived bathymetry for the Thwaites, Crosson and Dotson ice shelves revealing two ice shelf populations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom A. Jordan ◽  
David Porter ◽  
Kirsty Tinto ◽  
Romain Millan ◽  
Atsuhiro Muto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Airborne Gravity ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Qualitative Models ◽  
Cavity Thickness ◽  
Basal Melting

Abstract. Ice shelves play a critical role in the long-term stability of ice sheets through their buttressing effect. The underlying bathymetry and cavity thickness are key inputs for modelling future ice sheet evolution. However, direct observation of sub-ice shelf bathymetry is time consuming, logistically risky, and in some areas simply not possible. Here we use airborne gravity anomaly data to provide new estimates of sub-ice shelf bathymetry outboard of the rapidly changing West Antarctic Thwaites Glacier, and beneath the adjacent Dotson and Crosson Ice Shelves. This region is of especial interest as the low-lying inland reverse slope of the Thwaites glacier system makes it vulnerable to marine ice sheet instability, with rapid grounding-line retreat observed since 1993 suggesting this process may be underway. Our results confirm a major marine channel > 800 m deep extends to the front of Thwaites Glacier, while the adjacent ice shelves are underlain by more complex bathymetry. Comparison of our new bathymetry with ice shelf draft reveals that ice shelves formed since 1993 comprise a distinct population where the draft conforms closely to the underlying bathymetry, unlike the older ice shelves which show a more uniform depth of the ice base. This indicates that despite rapid basal melting in some areas, these “new” ice shelves are not yet in equilibrium with the underlying ocean system. We propose qualitative models of how this transient ice-shelf configuration may have developed.

scholarly journals High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 250-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver J. Marsh ◽  
Helen A. Fricker ◽  
Matthew R. Siegfried ◽  
Knut Christianson ◽  
Keith W. Nicholls ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Basal Melting

scholarly journals Melting and freezing under Antarctic ice shelves from a combination of ice-sheet modelling and observations

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (240) ◽  
pp. 731-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
JORGE BERNALES ◽  
IRINA ROGOZHINA ◽  
MAIK THOMAS
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Model Set ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Basal Melting ◽  
The Antarctic

ABSTRACTIce-shelf basal melting is the largest contributor to the negative mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet. However, current implementations of ice/ocean interactions in ice-sheet models disagree with the distribution of sub-shelf melt and freezing rates revealed by recent observational studies. Here we present a novel combination of a continental-scale ice flow model and a calibration technique to derive the spatial distribution of basal melting and freezing rates for the whole Antarctic ice-shelf system. The modelled ice-sheet equilibrium state is evaluated against topographic and velocity observations. Our high-resolution (10-km spacing) simulation predicts an equilibrium ice-shelf basal mass balance of −1648.7 Gt a−1 that increases to −1917.0 Gt a−1 when the observed ice-shelf thinning rates are taken into account. Our estimates reproduce the complexity of the basal mass balance of Antarctic ice shelves, providing a reference for parameterisations of sub-shelf ocean/ice interactions in continental ice-sheet models. We perform a sensitivity analysis to assess the effects of variations in the model set-up, showing that the retrieved estimates of basal melting and freezing rates are largely insensitive to changes in the internal model parameters, but respond strongly to a reduction of model resolution and the uncertainty in the input datasets.

scholarly journals Last Glacial Maximum-Holocene Glacial and Depositional History From Sediment Cores at Coulman High Beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sanne M Maas
Keyword(s):  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Grounding Line

<p>Sediment Cores collected from the shallow sub-sea floor beneath the Ross Ice Shelf at Coulman High have been analysed using sedimentological techniques to constrain the retreat history of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice sheet in the Ross Embayment, and to determine when the modern-day calving line location of the Ross Ice Shelf was established. A characteristic vertical succession of facies was identified in these cores, that can be linked to ice sheet and ice shelf extent in the Ross Embayment. The base of this succession consists of unconsolidated, clast rich muddy diamicts, and is interpreted to be deposited subglacially or in a grounding line proximal environment on account of a distinct provenance in the clast content which can only be attributed to subglacial transport from the Byrd Glacier 400 km to the south of the drill site. This is overlain by a mud with abundant clasts, similar in character to a granulated facies that has been documented previously in the Ross Sea, and is interpreted as being a characteristic grounding line lift-o facies in a sub-ice shelf setting. These glacial proximal facies pass upward into a mud, which comprises three distinctive units. i) Muds with sub-mm scale laminae resulting from traction currents occurring near the grounding line in a sub-ice shelf environment overlain by, ii) muds with sub-mm scale laminae and elevated biogenic content (diatoms and foraminifera) and sand/gravel clasts, interpreted as being deposited in open water conditions, passing up into a iii) bioturbated mud, interpreted as being deposited in sub-ice shelf environment, proximal to the calving line. The uppermost facies consists of a 20 cm thick diatom ooze with abundant clasts and pervasive bioturbation, indicative of a condensed section deposited during periodically open marine conditions. During post-LGM retreat of the ice sheet margin in western Ross Sea, and prior to the first open marine conditions at Coulman High, it is hypothesized that the grounding and calving line were in relative close proximity to each other. As the calving line became "pinned" in the Ross Island region, the grounding line likely continued its retreat toward its present day location. New corrected radiocarbon ages on the foraminifera shells in the interval of laminated muds with clasts, provide some of the first inorganic ages from the Ross Sea, and strengthen inferences from previous studies, that the first open marine conditions in the vicinity of Ross Island were 7,600 14C yr BP. While retreat of the calving line south of its present day position is implied during this period of mid-Holocene warmth prior to its re-advance, at present it is not possible to constrain the magnitude of retreat or attribute this to climate change rather than normal calving dynamics.</p>

scholarly journals An improved bathymetry compilation for the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica, to inform ice-sheet and ocean models

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 2079-2101 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. C. Graham ◽  
F. O. Nitsche ◽  
R. D. Larter
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Bellingshausen Sea ◽  
Warm Deep Water ◽  
Basal Melting

Abstract. The southern Bellingshausen Sea (SBS) is a rapidly-changing part of West Antarctica, where oceanic and atmospheric warming has led to the recent basal melting and break-up of the Wilkins ice shelf, the dynamic thinning of fringing glaciers, and sea-ice reduction. Accurate sea-floor morphology is vital for understanding the continued effects of each process upon changes within Antarctica's ice sheets. Here we present a new bathymetric grid for the SBS compiled from shipborne echo-sounder, spot-sounding and sub-ice measurements. The 1-km grid is the most detailed compilation for the SBS to-date, revealing large cross-shelf troughs, shallow banks, and deep inner-shelf basins that continue inland of coastal ice shelves. The troughs now serve as pathways which allow warm deep water to access the ice fronts in the SBS. Our dataset highlights areas still lacking bathymetric constraint, as well as regions for further investigation, including the likely routes of palaeo-ice streams. The new compilation is a major improvement upon previous grids and will be a key dataset for incorporating into simulations of ocean circulation, ice-sheet change and history. It will also serve forecasts of ice stability and future sea-level contributions from ice loss in West Antarctica, required for the next IPCC assessment report in 2013.

Swell-Triggered Seismicity at the Near-Front Damage Zone of the Ross Ice Shelf

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. Aster ◽  
Bradley P. Lipovsky ◽  
Hank M. Cole ◽  
Peter D. Bromirski ◽  
Peter Gerstoft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lamb Waves ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Damage Zone ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Dominant Frequency ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Background Rate ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Seismic Swarms

Abstract Ocean swell interacting with Antarctic ice shelves produces sustained (approximately, 2×106 cycles per year) gravity-elastic perturbations with deformation amplitudes near the ice front as large as tens to hundreds of nanostrain. This process is the most energetically excited during the austral summer, when sea ice-induced swell attenuation is at a minimum. A 2014–2017 deployment of broadband seismographs on the Ross Ice shelf, which included three stations sited, approximately, 2 km from the ice front, reveals prolific swell-associated triggering of discrete near-ice-front (magnitude≲0) seismic subevents, for which we identify three generic types. During some strong swell episodes, subevent timing becomes sufficiently phase-locked with swell excitation, to create prominent harmonic features in spectra calculated across sufficiently lengthy time windows via a Dirac comb effect, for which we articulate a theoretical development for randomized interevent times. These events are observable at near-front stations, have dominant frequency content between 0.5 and 20 Hz, and, in many cases, show highly repetitive waveforms. Matched filtering detection and analysis shows that events occur at a low-background rate during all swell states, but become particularly strongly excited during large amplitude swell at rates of up to many thousands per day. The superimposed elastic energy from swell-triggered sources illuminates the shelf interior as extensional (elastic plate) Lamb waves that are observable more than 100 km from the ice edge. Seismic swarms show threshold excitation and hysteresis with respect to rising and falling swell excitation. This behavior is consistent with repeated seismogenic fracture excitation and growth within a near-ice-front damage zone, encompassing fracture features seen in satellite imagery. A much smaller population of distinctly larger near-front seismic events, previously noted to be weakly associated with extended periods of swell perturbation, likely indicate calving or other larger-scale ice failures near the shelf front.

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