Impact of ocean forcing on the Aurora Basin in the 21st and 22nd centuries
The grounded ice in the Totten and Dalton glaciers is an essential component of the buttressing for the marine-based Aurora basin, and hence their stability is important to the future rate of mass loss from East Antarctica. Totten and Vanderford glaciers are joined by a deep east-west running subgla...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2016-09-01
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| Series: | Annals of Glaciology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305516000276/type/journal_article |
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| author | S. Sun S. L. Cornford D. E. Gwyther R. M. Gladstone B. K. Galton-Fenzi L. Zhao J. C. Moore |
| author_facet | S. Sun S. L. Cornford D. E. Gwyther R. M. Gladstone B. K. Galton-Fenzi L. Zhao J. C. Moore |
| author_sort | S. Sun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The grounded ice in the Totten and Dalton glaciers is an essential component of the buttressing for the marine-based Aurora basin, and hence their stability is important to the future rate of mass loss from East Antarctica. Totten and Vanderford glaciers are joined by a deep east-west running subglacial trench between the continental ice sheet and Law Dome, while a shallower trench links the Totten and Dalton glaciers. All three glaciers flow into the ocean close to the Antarctic circle and experience ocean-driven ice shelf melt rates comparable with the Amundsen Sea Embayment. We investigate this combination of trenches and ice shelves with the BISICLES adaptive mesh ice-sheet model and ocean-forcing melt rates derived from two global climate models. We find that ice shelf ablation at a rate comparable with the present day is sufficient to cause widespread grounding line retreat in an east-west direction across Totten and Dalton glaciers, with projected future warming causing faster retreat. Meanwhile, southward retreat is limited by the shallower ocean facing slopes between the coast and the bulk of the Aurora sub-glacial trench. However the two climate models produce completely different future ice shelf basal melt rates in this region: HadCM3 drives increasing sub-ice shelf melting to ~2150, while ECHAM5 shows little or no increase in sub-ice shelf melting under the two greenhouse gas forcing scenarios. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:04:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3694164b9da14ef9b0756c7f00c183f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0260-3055 1727-5644 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:04:35Z |
| publishDate | 2016-09-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-3694164b9da14ef9b0756c7f00c183f62023-03-09T12:27:30ZengCambridge University PressAnnals of Glaciology0260-30551727-56442016-09-0157798610.1017/aog.2016.27Impact of ocean forcing on the Aurora Basin in the 21st and 22nd centuriesS. Sun0S. L. Cornford1D. E. Gwyther2R. M. Gladstone3B. K. Galton-Fenzi4L. Zhao5J. C. Moore6College of Global Change and Earth Systerm Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China E-mail:School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1SS, UKInstitute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 129, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 80, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, AustraliaETH Zürich, Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau, Hydrologie und Glaziologie VAW, HIA C 58, Hönggerbergring 26, 8093 Zürich, SwitzerlandAntarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 80, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, AustraliaCollege of Global Change and Earth Systerm Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China E-mail:College of Global Change and Earth Systerm Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China E-mail: Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, PL122, 96100 Rovaniemi, FinlandThe grounded ice in the Totten and Dalton glaciers is an essential component of the buttressing for the marine-based Aurora basin, and hence their stability is important to the future rate of mass loss from East Antarctica. Totten and Vanderford glaciers are joined by a deep east-west running subglacial trench between the continental ice sheet and Law Dome, while a shallower trench links the Totten and Dalton glaciers. All three glaciers flow into the ocean close to the Antarctic circle and experience ocean-driven ice shelf melt rates comparable with the Amundsen Sea Embayment. We investigate this combination of trenches and ice shelves with the BISICLES adaptive mesh ice-sheet model and ocean-forcing melt rates derived from two global climate models. We find that ice shelf ablation at a rate comparable with the present day is sufficient to cause widespread grounding line retreat in an east-west direction across Totten and Dalton glaciers, with projected future warming causing faster retreat. Meanwhile, southward retreat is limited by the shallower ocean facing slopes between the coast and the bulk of the Aurora sub-glacial trench. However the two climate models produce completely different future ice shelf basal melt rates in this region: HadCM3 drives increasing sub-ice shelf melting to ~2150, while ECHAM5 shows little or no increase in sub-ice shelf melting under the two greenhouse gas forcing scenarios.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305516000276/type/journal_articleatmosphere/ice/ocean interactionsice-sheet modelling |
| spellingShingle | S. Sun S. L. Cornford D. E. Gwyther R. M. Gladstone B. K. Galton-Fenzi L. Zhao J. C. Moore Impact of ocean forcing on the Aurora Basin in the 21st and 22nd centuries Annals of Glaciology atmosphere/ice/ocean interactions ice-sheet modelling |
| title | Impact of ocean forcing on the Aurora Basin in the 21st and 22nd centuries |
| title_full | Impact of ocean forcing on the Aurora Basin in the 21st and 22nd centuries |
| title_fullStr | Impact of ocean forcing on the Aurora Basin in the 21st and 22nd centuries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of ocean forcing on the Aurora Basin in the 21st and 22nd centuries |
| title_short | Impact of ocean forcing on the Aurora Basin in the 21st and 22nd centuries |
| title_sort | impact of ocean forcing on the aurora basin in the 21st and 22nd centuries |
| topic | atmosphere/ice/ocean interactions ice-sheet modelling |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305516000276/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ssun impactofoceanforcingontheaurorabasininthe21stand22ndcenturies AT slcornford impactofoceanforcingontheaurorabasininthe21stand22ndcenturies AT degwyther impactofoceanforcingontheaurorabasininthe21stand22ndcenturies AT rmgladstone impactofoceanforcingontheaurorabasininthe21stand22ndcenturies AT bkgaltonfenzi impactofoceanforcingontheaurorabasininthe21stand22ndcenturies AT lzhao impactofoceanforcingontheaurorabasininthe21stand22ndcenturies AT jcmoore impactofoceanforcingontheaurorabasininthe21stand22ndcenturies |