Antarctic ice shelf disintegration triggered by sea ice loss and ocean swell

Massom, Robert A.; Scambos, T. A.; Bennetts, Luke G.; Reid, Phillip; Squire, Vernon A.; Stammerjohn, Sharon

doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0212-1

Cited by 260 publications

(298 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…These same indicators were present prior to the 2002 collapse of the LBIS [2,55]. The recent formation of fast ice supporting the front of the ice shelf [31], combined with moderate MST values, may have prevented or delayed its collapse. The mechanism of MST and fast ice preventing SIIS disintegration needs to be further studied.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…Generally, as protective sea ice for the ice shelf front, fast ice provides support to the ice shelf that may reduce the possibility of disintegration events triggered by sea ice loss and ocean swell [31]. Here, the evolutionary changes of fast ice along the SIIS are evaluated for the austral summer of January and February when the temperature is high.…”

Section: Mean Austral Summer Temperature and Fast Ice Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fast ice, also called landfast ice, is sea ice that is "fastened" to the coastline, to the sea floor along shoals, or to grounded icebergs. Massom et al [31] presented evidence that the absence of a protective fast ice buffer and the direct exposure of the ice shelf front to ocean swells potentially weakened the ice shelf to the point of calving.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolving Instability of the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf based on Sequential Landsat Images Spanning 2005–2018

Qiao

Guo

et al. 2019

Remote Sensing

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Following the large-scale disintegration of the Larsen B Ice Shelf (LBIS) in 2002, ice flow velocities for its remnants and tributary glaciers began to increase. In this study, we used sequential Landsat images spanning 2005-2018 to produce detailed maps of the ice flow velocities and surface features for the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf (SIIS). Our results indicate that the ice flow velocities for the SIIS and its tributary glaciers (Flask and Leppard Glaciers) have substantially increased since 2005. Surface features, such as rifts and crevasses, have also substantially increased in both scope and scale and are particularly evident in the region between the Leppard Glacier and the Jason Peninsula. Several indicators-including the acceleration of ice flows, the rapid growth of major surface rifts, the heavily enhanced surface crevasses, and the dynamic position of the ice front-point to the evolving instability of the SIIS. These same indicators describe the conditions for the LBIS leading up to its 2002 collapse. To date, however, the SIIS remains intact. The formation of fast ice supporting the ice shelf front, combined with moderate mean summer temperatures, may be preventing or delaying its collapse.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Mean Austral Summer Temperature and Fast Ice Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolving Instability of the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf based on Sequential Landsat Images Spanning 2005–2018

Qiao

Guo

et al. 2019

Remote Sensing

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“…The SAM has a relatively short characteristic timescale of around 10 days, but the frequency of the positive polarity also has increased slowly on decadal timescales due to stratospheric ozone depletion (Thompson et al, 2011). The SAM is recognized to influence global ocean surface waves (Hemer et al, 2010;Marshall et al, 2018) and surface temperatures (Marshall, 2007), which in turn affect sea ice and ice shelves (Greene et al, 2017;Massom et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of the Cryosphere and Atmosphere on Observed Microseisms Generated in the Southern Ocean

et al. 2020

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The Southern Ocean (in the region 60–180° E) south of the Indian Ocean, Australia, and the West Pacific is noted for the frequent occurrence and severity of its storms. These storms give rise to high‐amplitude secondary microseisms from sources, including the deep ocean regions, and primary microseisms where the swells impinge on submarine topographic features. A better understanding of the varying microseism wavefield enables improvements to seismic imaging and development of proxy observables to complement sparse in situ wave observations and hindcast models of the global ocean wave climate. We analyze 12–26 years of seismic data from 11 seismic stations either on the East Antarctic coast or sited in the Indian Ocean, Australia, and New Zealand. The power spectral density of the seismic wavefield is calculated to explore how the time‐changing microseism intensity varies with (i) sea ice coverage surrounding Antarctica and (ii) the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) climate index. Variations in sea ice extent are found to be the dominant control on the microseism intensity at Antarctic stations, which exhibit a seasonal pattern phase‐shifted by 4–5 months compared to stations in other continents. Peaks in extremal intensity at East Antarctic stations occur in March–April, with the highest peaks for secondary microseisms occurring during negative SAM events. This relationship between microseism intensity and the SAM index is opposite to that observed on the Antarctic Peninsula. This work informs the complexity of microseism amplitudes in the Southern Hemisphere and assists ongoing interdisciplinary investigations of interannual variability and long‐term trends.

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“…The accelerated melting and weakening of our sea ice cover has contributed to an increase in wave activity in the Arctic (Thomson and Rogers, 2014) and Antarctic (Massom et al, 2018;Stopa et al, 2018), and is a driver for further losses of ice in both regions. In response to the retreat of the ice cover, the Arctic has seen an increase in human and maritime activities (Stephenson et al, 2011;Melia et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wave attenuation and dispersion due to floating ice covers

Yiew

Parra

Wang

et al. 2019

Applied Ocean Research

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Experiments investigating the attenuation and dispersion of surface waves in a variety of ice covers are performed using a refrigerated wave flume. The ice conditions tested in the experiments cover naturally occurring combinations of continuous, fragmented, pancake and grease ice. Attenuation rates are shown to be a function of ice thickness, wave frequency, and the general rigidity of the ice cover. Dispersion changes were minor except for large wavelength increases when continuous covers were tested. Results are verified and compared with existing literature to show the extended range of investigation in terms of incident wave frequency and ice conditions. * Corresponding author's email: lucas yiew@tcoms.sg. Current address: Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore (TCOMS), Singapore.

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Antarctic ice shelf disintegration triggered by sea ice loss and ocean swell

Cited by 260 publications

References 69 publications

Evolving Instability of the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf based on Sequential Landsat Images Spanning 2005–2018

Evolving Instability of the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf based on Sequential Landsat Images Spanning 2005–2018

Impacts of the Cryosphere and Atmosphere on Observed Microseisms Generated in the Southern Ocean

Wave attenuation and dispersion due to floating ice covers

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