Diverse behaviors of marine ice sheets in response to temporal variability of the atmospheric and basal conditions
The observed retreat of the grounding line of the present-day ice sheets and the simulated grounding-line retreat of ice sheets under changing climate conditions are often interpreted as indications of marine ice-sheet instability (MISI), driven by a positive feedback between the ice discharge and c...
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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/S0022143024000431/type/journal_article |
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| author | Olga Sergienko Duncan John Wingham |
| author_facet | Olga Sergienko Duncan John Wingham |
| author_sort | Olga Sergienko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The observed retreat of the grounding line of the present-day ice sheets and the simulated grounding-line retreat of ice sheets under changing climate conditions are often interpreted as indications of marine ice-sheet instability (MISI), driven by a positive feedback between the ice discharge and conditions at the grounding line. However, the arguments that support this feedback are valid only for steady-state conditions. Here, we assess how unconfined marine ice sheets may behave if atmospheric conditions and basal conditions evolve with time. We find that the behavior of grounding lines can exhibit a range from unstoppable advance and retreat to irregular oscillation irrespective of the stability of the corresponding steady-state configurations obtained with time-invariant conditions. Our results show that numerical simulations with a parameterization of the ice flux through the grounding line used in large-scale ice-sheet models produce markedly different results from simulations without the parameterization. Our analysis demonstrates that the grounding-line migration can be driven by the temporal variability in the atmospheric and basal conditions and not by MISI, which assumes unchanging conditions. Instead, the grounding-line advance or retreat is determined by interactions between ice flow, basal processes and environmental conditions throughout the length of a marine ice sheet in addition to the circumstances at its grounding line. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-74a86d220b9f456a8bc4729b6e170fe1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj-art-74a86d220b9f456a8bc4729b6e170fe12025-01-16T21:52:26ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522024-01-017010.1017/jog.2024.43Diverse behaviors of marine ice sheets in response to temporal variability of the atmospheric and basal conditionsOlga Sergienko0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5764-8815Duncan John Wingham1Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program, Princeton University, 300 Forrestal Rd., Princeton, NJ 08540l, USAThe Natural Environment Research Council, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1EU, UKThe observed retreat of the grounding line of the present-day ice sheets and the simulated grounding-line retreat of ice sheets under changing climate conditions are often interpreted as indications of marine ice-sheet instability (MISI), driven by a positive feedback between the ice discharge and conditions at the grounding line. However, the arguments that support this feedback are valid only for steady-state conditions. Here, we assess how unconfined marine ice sheets may behave if atmospheric conditions and basal conditions evolve with time. We find that the behavior of grounding lines can exhibit a range from unstoppable advance and retreat to irregular oscillation irrespective of the stability of the corresponding steady-state configurations obtained with time-invariant conditions. Our results show that numerical simulations with a parameterization of the ice flux through the grounding line used in large-scale ice-sheet models produce markedly different results from simulations without the parameterization. Our analysis demonstrates that the grounding-line migration can be driven by the temporal variability in the atmospheric and basal conditions and not by MISI, which assumes unchanging conditions. Instead, the grounding-line advance or retreat is determined by interactions between ice flow, basal processes and environmental conditions throughout the length of a marine ice sheet in addition to the circumstances at its grounding line.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143024000431/type/journal_articleice dynamicsice-sheet modelingice streams |
| spellingShingle | Olga Sergienko Duncan John Wingham Diverse behaviors of marine ice sheets in response to temporal variability of the atmospheric and basal conditions Journal of Glaciology ice dynamics ice-sheet modeling ice streams |
| title | Diverse behaviors of marine ice sheets in response to temporal variability of the atmospheric and basal conditions |
| title_full | Diverse behaviors of marine ice sheets in response to temporal variability of the atmospheric and basal conditions |
| title_fullStr | Diverse behaviors of marine ice sheets in response to temporal variability of the atmospheric and basal conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diverse behaviors of marine ice sheets in response to temporal variability of the atmospheric and basal conditions |
| title_short | Diverse behaviors of marine ice sheets in response to temporal variability of the atmospheric and basal conditions |
| title_sort | diverse behaviors of marine ice sheets in response to temporal variability of the atmospheric and basal conditions |
| topic | ice dynamics ice-sheet modeling ice streams |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143024000431/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT olgasergienko diversebehaviorsofmarineicesheetsinresponsetotemporalvariabilityoftheatmosphericandbasalconditions AT duncanjohnwingham diversebehaviorsofmarineicesheetsinresponsetotemporalvariabilityoftheatmosphericandbasalconditions |