Channelized ice melting in the ocean boundary layer beneath Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 13:42authored byStanton, TP, Shaw, WJ, Truffer, M, Corr, HFJ, Peters, LE, Riverman, KL, Bindschadler, R, Holland, DM, Anandakrishnan, S
Ice shelves play a key role in the mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheets by buttressing their seaward-flowing outlet glaciers; however, they are exposed to the underlying ocean and may weaken if ocean thermal forcing increases. An expedition to the ice shelf of the remote Pine Island Glacier, a major outlet of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet that has rapidly thinned and accelerated in recent decades, has been completed. Observations from geophysical surveys and long-term oceanographic instruments deployed down bore holes into the ocean cavity reveal a buoyancy-driven boundary layer within a basal channel that melts the channel apex by 0.06 meter per day, with near-zero melt rates along the flanks of the channel. A complex pattern of such channels is visible throughout the Pine Island Glacier shelf.
History
Publication title
Science
Volume
341
Issue
6151
Pagination
1236-1239
ISSN
0036-8075
Department/School
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
Publisher
Amer Assoc Advancement Science
Place of publication
1200 New York Ave, Nw, Washington, USA, Dc, 20005
Rights statement
Copyright 2013 The Authors
Repository Status
Restricted
Socio-economic Objectives
Effects of climate change on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic environments (excl. social impacts)