The ice dynamic and melting response of Pine Island Ice Shelf to calving
Sea level rise contributions from the Pine Island Glacier (PIG) are strongly modulated by the backstress that its floating extension – Pine Island Ice Shelf (PIIS) – exerts on the adjoining grounded ice. The front of PIIS has recently retreated significantly via calving, and satellite and theoretica...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Annals of Glaciology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305523000241/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797660565059928064 |
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| author | Alexander T. Bradley Jan De Rydt David T. Bett Pierre Dutrieux Paul R. Holland |
| author_facet | Alexander T. Bradley Jan De Rydt David T. Bett Pierre Dutrieux Paul R. Holland |
| author_sort | Alexander T. Bradley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sea level rise contributions from the Pine Island Glacier (PIG) are strongly modulated by the backstress that its floating extension – Pine Island Ice Shelf (PIIS) – exerts on the adjoining grounded ice. The front of PIIS has recently retreated significantly via calving, and satellite and theoretical analyses have suggested further retreat is inevitable. As well as inducing an instantaneous increase in ice flow, retreat of the PIIS front may result in increased ocean melting, by relaxing the topographic barrier to warm ocean water that is currently provided by a prominent seabed ridge. Recently published research (Bradley and others, 2022a) has shown that PIIS may exhibit a strong melting response to calving, with melting close to the PIG grounding line always increasing with ice front retreat. Here, we summarise this research and, additionally, place the results in a glaciological context by comparing the impact of melt-induced and ice-dynamical changes in the ice shelf thinning rate. We find that while PIG is expected to experience rapid acceleration in response to further ice front retreat, the mean instantaneous thinning response is set primarily by changes in melting, rather than ice dynamics. Overall, further ice front retreat is expected to lead to enhanced ice-shelf thinning, with potentially detrimental consequences for ice shelf stability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:31:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3c5184c7aa964900b9268bc899e5695e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0260-3055 1727-5644 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:31:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-3c5184c7aa964900b9268bc899e5695e2023-10-13T10:44:52ZengCambridge University PressAnnals of Glaciology0260-30551727-56442022-09-016311111510.1017/aog.2023.24The ice dynamic and melting response of Pine Island Ice Shelf to calvingAlexander T. Bradley0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8381-5317Jan De Rydt1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2978-8706David T. Bett2Pierre Dutrieux3Paul R. Holland4British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UKDepartment of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UKBritish Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UKBritish Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UKBritish Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UKSea level rise contributions from the Pine Island Glacier (PIG) are strongly modulated by the backstress that its floating extension – Pine Island Ice Shelf (PIIS) – exerts on the adjoining grounded ice. The front of PIIS has recently retreated significantly via calving, and satellite and theoretical analyses have suggested further retreat is inevitable. As well as inducing an instantaneous increase in ice flow, retreat of the PIIS front may result in increased ocean melting, by relaxing the topographic barrier to warm ocean water that is currently provided by a prominent seabed ridge. Recently published research (Bradley and others, 2022a) has shown that PIIS may exhibit a strong melting response to calving, with melting close to the PIG grounding line always increasing with ice front retreat. Here, we summarise this research and, additionally, place the results in a glaciological context by comparing the impact of melt-induced and ice-dynamical changes in the ice shelf thinning rate. We find that while PIG is expected to experience rapid acceleration in response to further ice front retreat, the mean instantaneous thinning response is set primarily by changes in melting, rather than ice dynamics. Overall, further ice front retreat is expected to lead to enhanced ice-shelf thinning, with potentially detrimental consequences for ice shelf stability.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305523000241/type/journal_articleCalvingice/ocean interactionsice shelvesice-sheet modellingpolar and subpolar oceans |
| spellingShingle | Alexander T. Bradley Jan De Rydt David T. Bett Pierre Dutrieux Paul R. Holland The ice dynamic and melting response of Pine Island Ice Shelf to calving Annals of Glaciology Calving ice/ocean interactions ice shelves ice-sheet modelling polar and subpolar oceans |
| title | The ice dynamic and melting response of Pine Island Ice Shelf to calving |
| title_full | The ice dynamic and melting response of Pine Island Ice Shelf to calving |
| title_fullStr | The ice dynamic and melting response of Pine Island Ice Shelf to calving |
| title_full_unstemmed | The ice dynamic and melting response of Pine Island Ice Shelf to calving |
| title_short | The ice dynamic and melting response of Pine Island Ice Shelf to calving |
| title_sort | ice dynamic and melting response of pine island ice shelf to calving |
| topic | Calving ice/ocean interactions ice shelves ice-sheet modelling polar and subpolar oceans |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305523000241/type/journal_article |
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