Channelized ice melting in the ocean boundary layer beneath Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica

T. P. Stanton, W. J. Shaw, M. Truffer, H. F J Corr, L. E. Peters, K. L. Riverman, R. Bindschadler, D. M. Holland, S. Anandakrishnan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Ice shelves play a key role in the mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheets by buttressing their seaward-flowing outlet glaciers; however, they are exposed to the underlying ocean and may weaken if ocean thermal forcing increases. An expedition to the ice shelf of the remote Pine Island Glacier, a major outlet of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet that has rapidly thinned and accelerated in recent decades, has been completed. Observations from geophysical surveys and long-term oceanographic instruments deployed down bore holes into the ocean cavity reveal a buoyancy-driven boundary layer within a basal channel that melts the channel apex by 0.06 meter per day, with near-zero melt rates along the flanks of the channel. A complex pattern of such channels is visible throughout the Pine Island Glacier shelf.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1236-1239
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume341
Issue number6151
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Channelized ice melting in the ocean boundary layer beneath Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this