Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68
The collapse of several ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula since the late 20th century has resulted in the upstream acceleration of multiple formerly buttressed outlet glaciers, raising questions about the stability of Antarctica's remaining ice shelves and the effects their demise may have...
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Cambridge University Press
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143023001028/type/journal_article |
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| author | Katherine A. Deakin Frazer D. W. Christie Karla Boxall Ian C. Willis |
| author_facet | Katherine A. Deakin Frazer D. W. Christie Karla Boxall Ian C. Willis |
| author_sort | Katherine A. Deakin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The collapse of several ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula since the late 20th century has resulted in the upstream acceleration of multiple formerly buttressed outlet glaciers, raising questions about the stability of Antarctica's remaining ice shelves and the effects their demise may have upon inland ice. Here, we use high temporal resolution Sentinel-1A/B synthetic aperture radar-derived observations to assess the velocity response of Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS) to the calving of colossal iceberg A-68 in 2017. We find marked oscillations in ice-shelf flow across LCIS in the months following A-68's calving, beginning with a near-ice-shelf-wide slowdown of 11.3 m yr−1 on average. While falling close to the limits of detectability, these ice-flow variations appear to have been presaged by similar oscillations in the years prior to A-68's breakaway, associated primarily with major rifting events, together reflecting potentially hitherto unobserved ice-shelf mechanical processes with important implications for ice-shelf weakening. Such ice-flow oscillations were, however, short-lived, with more recent observations suggesting a deceleration below longer-term rates of ice flow. Collectively, our observations reveal complex spatial-temporal patterns of ice-flow variability at LCIS. Similarly abrupt fluctuations may have important implications for the stability of other ice shelves, necessitating the continued, close observation of Antarctica's coastline in the future. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3b5fb1fb078742cfb61f821134e0f43b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
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| series | Journal of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj-art-3b5fb1fb078742cfb61f821134e0f43b2025-01-16T21:50:51ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522024-01-017010.1017/jog.2023.102Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68Katherine A. Deakin0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0881-6384Frazer D. W. Christie1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7378-4243Karla Boxall2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6574-7717Ian C. Willis3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0750-7088Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1ER, UKScott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1ER, UK Airbus Defence and Space Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne, UKScott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1ER, UKScott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1ER, UKThe collapse of several ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula since the late 20th century has resulted in the upstream acceleration of multiple formerly buttressed outlet glaciers, raising questions about the stability of Antarctica's remaining ice shelves and the effects their demise may have upon inland ice. Here, we use high temporal resolution Sentinel-1A/B synthetic aperture radar-derived observations to assess the velocity response of Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS) to the calving of colossal iceberg A-68 in 2017. We find marked oscillations in ice-shelf flow across LCIS in the months following A-68's calving, beginning with a near-ice-shelf-wide slowdown of 11.3 m yr−1 on average. While falling close to the limits of detectability, these ice-flow variations appear to have been presaged by similar oscillations in the years prior to A-68's breakaway, associated primarily with major rifting events, together reflecting potentially hitherto unobserved ice-shelf mechanical processes with important implications for ice-shelf weakening. Such ice-flow oscillations were, however, short-lived, with more recent observations suggesting a deceleration below longer-term rates of ice flow. Collectively, our observations reveal complex spatial-temporal patterns of ice-flow variability at LCIS. Similarly abrupt fluctuations may have important implications for the stability of other ice shelves, necessitating the continued, close observation of Antarctica's coastline in the future.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143023001028/type/journal_articleAntarctic glaciologyiceberg calvingice shelvesice velocityremote sensing |
| spellingShingle | Katherine A. Deakin Frazer D. W. Christie Karla Boxall Ian C. Willis Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 Journal of Glaciology Antarctic glaciology iceberg calving ice shelves ice velocity remote sensing |
| title | Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 |
| title_full | Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 |
| title_fullStr | Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 |
| title_short | Oscillatory response of Larsen C Ice Shelf flow to the calving of iceberg A-68 |
| title_sort | oscillatory response of larsen c ice shelf flow to the calving of iceberg a 68 |
| topic | Antarctic glaciology iceberg calving ice shelves ice velocity remote sensing |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143023001028/type/journal_article |
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