Effects of calving and submarine melting on steady states and stability of buttressed marine ice sheets

Mass loss from ice shelves is a strong control on grounding-line dynamics. Here we investigate how calving and submarine melt parameterizations affect steady-state grounding-line positions and their stability. Our results indicate that different calving laws with the same melt parameterization resul...

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Main Authors: Marianne Haseloff, Olga V. Sergienko
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2022-12-01
Series:Journal of Glaciology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022000296/type/journal_article
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author Marianne Haseloff
Olga V. Sergienko
author_facet Marianne Haseloff
Olga V. Sergienko
author_sort Marianne Haseloff
collection DOAJ
description Mass loss from ice shelves is a strong control on grounding-line dynamics. Here we investigate how calving and submarine melt parameterizations affect steady-state grounding-line positions and their stability. Our results indicate that different calving laws with the same melt parameterization result in more diverse steady-state ice-sheet configurations than different melt parameterizations with the same calving law. We show that the backstress at the grounding line depends on the integrated ice-shelf mass flux. Consequently, ice shelves are most sensitive to high melt rates in the vicinity of their grounding lines. For the same shelf-averaged melt rates, different melt parameterizations can lead to very different ice-shelf configurations and grounding-line positions. If the melt rate depends on the slope of the ice-shelf draft, then the positive feedback between increased melting and steepening of the slope can lead to singular melt rates at the ice-shelf front, producing an apparent lower limit of the shelf front thickness as the ice thickness vanishes over a small boundary layer. Our results illustrate that the evolution of marine ice sheets is highly dependent on ice-shelf mass loss mechanisms, and that existing parameterizations can lead to a wide range of modelled grounding-line behaviours.
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spelling doaj.art-822986f11c7142d5b94cf8406858df672023-03-09T12:41:19ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522022-12-01681149116610.1017/jog.2022.29Effects of calving and submarine melting on steady states and stability of buttressed marine ice sheetsMarianne Haseloff0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6576-5384Olga V. Sergienko1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5764-8815Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UKAtmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USAMass loss from ice shelves is a strong control on grounding-line dynamics. Here we investigate how calving and submarine melt parameterizations affect steady-state grounding-line positions and their stability. Our results indicate that different calving laws with the same melt parameterization result in more diverse steady-state ice-sheet configurations than different melt parameterizations with the same calving law. We show that the backstress at the grounding line depends on the integrated ice-shelf mass flux. Consequently, ice shelves are most sensitive to high melt rates in the vicinity of their grounding lines. For the same shelf-averaged melt rates, different melt parameterizations can lead to very different ice-shelf configurations and grounding-line positions. If the melt rate depends on the slope of the ice-shelf draft, then the positive feedback between increased melting and steepening of the slope can lead to singular melt rates at the ice-shelf front, producing an apparent lower limit of the shelf front thickness as the ice thickness vanishes over a small boundary layer. Our results illustrate that the evolution of marine ice sheets is highly dependent on ice-shelf mass loss mechanisms, and that existing parameterizations can lead to a wide range of modelled grounding-line behaviours.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022000296/type/journal_articleCalvingice dynamicsice/ocean interactionsice-sheet modellingice shelves
spellingShingle Marianne Haseloff
Olga V. Sergienko
Effects of calving and submarine melting on steady states and stability of buttressed marine ice sheets
Journal of Glaciology
Calving
ice dynamics
ice/ocean interactions
ice-sheet modelling
ice shelves
title Effects of calving and submarine melting on steady states and stability of buttressed marine ice sheets
title_full Effects of calving and submarine melting on steady states and stability of buttressed marine ice sheets
title_fullStr Effects of calving and submarine melting on steady states and stability of buttressed marine ice sheets
title_full_unstemmed Effects of calving and submarine melting on steady states and stability of buttressed marine ice sheets
title_short Effects of calving and submarine melting on steady states and stability of buttressed marine ice sheets
title_sort effects of calving and submarine melting on steady states and stability of buttressed marine ice sheets
topic Calving
ice dynamics
ice/ocean interactions
ice-sheet modelling
ice shelves
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022000296/type/journal_article
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AT olgavsergienko effectsofcalvingandsubmarinemeltingonsteadystatesandstabilityofbuttressedmarineicesheets