Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response
<p>In late March 2011, landfast sea ice (hereafter, “fast ice”) formed in the northern Larsen B embayment and persisted continuously as multi-year fast ice until January 2022. In the 11 years of fast-ice presence, the northern Larsen B glaciers slowed significantly, thickened in their lower re...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2024-04-01
|
| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/1709/2024/tc-18-1709-2024.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827288673010319360 |
|---|---|
| author | N. E. Ochwat N. E. Ochwat T. A. Scambos A. F. Banwell R. S. Anderson M. L. Maclennan G. Picard J. A. Shates S. Marinsek L. Margonari L. Margonari L. Margonari M. Truffer M. Truffer E. C. Pettit |
| author_facet | N. E. Ochwat N. E. Ochwat T. A. Scambos A. F. Banwell R. S. Anderson M. L. Maclennan G. Picard J. A. Shates S. Marinsek L. Margonari L. Margonari L. Margonari M. Truffer M. Truffer E. C. Pettit |
| author_sort | N. E. Ochwat |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>In late March 2011, landfast sea ice (hereafter, “fast ice”) formed in the northern Larsen B embayment and persisted continuously as multi-year fast ice until January 2022. In the 11 years of fast-ice presence, the northern Larsen B glaciers slowed significantly, thickened in their lower reaches, and developed extensive mélange areas, leading to the formation of ice tongues that extended up to 16 km from the 2011 ice fronts. In situ measurements of ice speed on adjacent ice shelf areas spanning 2011 to 2017 show that the fast ice provided significant resistive stress to ice flow. Fast-ice breakout began in late January 2022 and was closely followed by retreat and breakup of both the fast-ice mélange and the glacier ice tongues. We investigate the probable triggers for the loss of fast ice and document the initial upstream glacier responses. The fast-ice breakup is linked to the arrival of a strong ocean swell event (<span class="inline-formula">>1.5</span> m amplitude; wave period waves <span class="inline-formula">>5</span> s) originating from the northeast. Wave propagation to the ice front was facilitated by a 12-year low in sea ice concentration in the northwestern Weddell Sea, creating a near-ice-free corridor to the open ocean. Remote sensing data in the months following the fast-ice breakout reveals an initial ice flow speed increase (<span class="inline-formula">>2</span>-fold), elevation loss (9 to 11 m), and rapid calving of floating and grounded ice for the three main embayment glaciers Crane (11 km), Hektoria (25 km), and Green (18 km).</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T11:35:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dbba9d391c7840f1b1fc0cca23ec7d9b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T11:35:41Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Cryosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-dbba9d391c7840f1b1fc0cca23ec7d9b2024-04-10T05:57:48ZengCopernicus PublicationsThe Cryosphere1994-04161994-04242024-04-01181709173110.5194/tc-18-1709-2024Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier responseN. E. Ochwat0N. E. Ochwat1T. A. Scambos2A. F. Banwell3R. S. Anderson4M. L. Maclennan5G. Picard6J. A. Shates7S. Marinsek8L. Margonari9L. Margonari10L. Margonari11M. Truffer12M. Truffer13E. C. Pettit14Earth Science Observation Center (ESOC), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USADepartment of Geology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USAEarth Science Observation Center (ESOC), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USAEarth Science Observation Center (ESOC), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USADepartment of Geology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USAInstitut des Géosciences de l'Environnement (IGE), Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, UMR 5001, Grenoble, FranceDepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USAInstituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaInstituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaDepartamento de Geología, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaGeophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USADepartment of Physics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USACollege of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA<p>In late March 2011, landfast sea ice (hereafter, “fast ice”) formed in the northern Larsen B embayment and persisted continuously as multi-year fast ice until January 2022. In the 11 years of fast-ice presence, the northern Larsen B glaciers slowed significantly, thickened in their lower reaches, and developed extensive mélange areas, leading to the formation of ice tongues that extended up to 16 km from the 2011 ice fronts. In situ measurements of ice speed on adjacent ice shelf areas spanning 2011 to 2017 show that the fast ice provided significant resistive stress to ice flow. Fast-ice breakout began in late January 2022 and was closely followed by retreat and breakup of both the fast-ice mélange and the glacier ice tongues. We investigate the probable triggers for the loss of fast ice and document the initial upstream glacier responses. The fast-ice breakup is linked to the arrival of a strong ocean swell event (<span class="inline-formula">>1.5</span> m amplitude; wave period waves <span class="inline-formula">>5</span> s) originating from the northeast. Wave propagation to the ice front was facilitated by a 12-year low in sea ice concentration in the northwestern Weddell Sea, creating a near-ice-free corridor to the open ocean. Remote sensing data in the months following the fast-ice breakout reveals an initial ice flow speed increase (<span class="inline-formula">>2</span>-fold), elevation loss (9 to 11 m), and rapid calving of floating and grounded ice for the three main embayment glaciers Crane (11 km), Hektoria (25 km), and Green (18 km).</p>https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/1709/2024/tc-18-1709-2024.pdf |
| spellingShingle | N. E. Ochwat N. E. Ochwat T. A. Scambos A. F. Banwell R. S. Anderson M. L. Maclennan G. Picard J. A. Shates S. Marinsek L. Margonari L. Margonari L. Margonari M. Truffer M. Truffer E. C. Pettit Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response The Cryosphere |
| title | Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
| title_full | Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
| title_fullStr | Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
| title_full_unstemmed | Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
| title_short | Triggers of the 2022 Larsen B multi-year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
| title_sort | triggers of the 2022 larsen b multi year landfast sea ice breakout and initial glacier response |
| url | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/1709/2024/tc-18-1709-2024.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT neochwat triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT neochwat triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT tascambos triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT afbanwell triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT rsanderson triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT mlmaclennan triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT gpicard triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT jashates triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT smarinsek triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT lmargonari triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT lmargonari triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT lmargonari triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT mtruffer triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT mtruffer triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse AT ecpettit triggersofthe2022larsenbmultiyearlandfastseaicebreakoutandinitialglacierresponse |