Heterogeneous Basal Thermal Conditions Underpinning the Adélie‐George V Coast, East Antarctica
Abstract Adélie‐George V Land in East Antarctica, encompassing the vast Wilkes Subglacial Basin, has a configuration that could be prone to ice sheet instability: the basin's retrograde bed slope could make its marine terminating glaciers vulnerable to warm seawater intrusion and irreversible r...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105450 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849723399660634112 |
|---|---|
| author | Eliza J. Dawson Dustin M. Schroeder Winnie Chu Elisa Mantelli Helene Seroussi |
| author_facet | Eliza J. Dawson Dustin M. Schroeder Winnie Chu Elisa Mantelli Helene Seroussi |
| author_sort | Eliza J. Dawson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Adélie‐George V Land in East Antarctica, encompassing the vast Wilkes Subglacial Basin, has a configuration that could be prone to ice sheet instability: the basin's retrograde bed slope could make its marine terminating glaciers vulnerable to warm seawater intrusion and irreversible retreat under predicted climate forcing. However, future projections are uncertain, due in part to limited subglacial observations near the grounding zone. Here, we develop a novel statistical approach to characterize subglacial conditions from radar sounding observations. Our method reveals intermixed frozen and thawed bed within 100 km of the grounding‐zone near the Wilkes Subglacial Basin outflow, and enables comparisons to ice sheet model‐inferred thermal states. The signs of intermixed or near thawed conditions raises the possibility that changes in basal thermal state could impact the stability of Adélie‐George V Land, adding to the region's potentially vulnerable topographic configuration and sensitivity to ocean forcing driven grounding line retreat. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-83e4d9b6183d4314aa3f5f4688da3ff0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-83e4d9b6183d4314aa3f5f4688da3ff02025-08-20T03:11:03ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-01-01512n/an/a10.1029/2023GL105450Heterogeneous Basal Thermal Conditions Underpinning the Adélie‐George V Coast, East AntarcticaEliza J. Dawson0Dustin M. Schroeder1Winnie Chu2Elisa Mantelli3Helene Seroussi4Department of Geophysics Stanford University Stanford CA USADepartment of Geophysics Stanford University Stanford CA USASchool of Earth and Atmospheric Science Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA USAAlfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research Bremerhaven GermanyThayer School of Engineering Dartmouth College Hanover NH USAAbstract Adélie‐George V Land in East Antarctica, encompassing the vast Wilkes Subglacial Basin, has a configuration that could be prone to ice sheet instability: the basin's retrograde bed slope could make its marine terminating glaciers vulnerable to warm seawater intrusion and irreversible retreat under predicted climate forcing. However, future projections are uncertain, due in part to limited subglacial observations near the grounding zone. Here, we develop a novel statistical approach to characterize subglacial conditions from radar sounding observations. Our method reveals intermixed frozen and thawed bed within 100 km of the grounding‐zone near the Wilkes Subglacial Basin outflow, and enables comparisons to ice sheet model‐inferred thermal states. The signs of intermixed or near thawed conditions raises the possibility that changes in basal thermal state could impact the stability of Adélie‐George V Land, adding to the region's potentially vulnerable topographic configuration and sensitivity to ocean forcing driven grounding line retreat.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105450 |
| spellingShingle | Eliza J. Dawson Dustin M. Schroeder Winnie Chu Elisa Mantelli Helene Seroussi Heterogeneous Basal Thermal Conditions Underpinning the Adélie‐George V Coast, East Antarctica Geophysical Research Letters |
| title | Heterogeneous Basal Thermal Conditions Underpinning the Adélie‐George V Coast, East Antarctica |
| title_full | Heterogeneous Basal Thermal Conditions Underpinning the Adélie‐George V Coast, East Antarctica |
| title_fullStr | Heterogeneous Basal Thermal Conditions Underpinning the Adélie‐George V Coast, East Antarctica |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heterogeneous Basal Thermal Conditions Underpinning the Adélie‐George V Coast, East Antarctica |
| title_short | Heterogeneous Basal Thermal Conditions Underpinning the Adélie‐George V Coast, East Antarctica |
| title_sort | heterogeneous basal thermal conditions underpinning the adelie george v coast east antarctica |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105450 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elizajdawson heterogeneousbasalthermalconditionsunderpinningtheadeliegeorgevcoasteastantarctica AT dustinmschroeder heterogeneousbasalthermalconditionsunderpinningtheadeliegeorgevcoasteastantarctica AT winniechu heterogeneousbasalthermalconditionsunderpinningtheadeliegeorgevcoasteastantarctica AT elisamantelli heterogeneousbasalthermalconditionsunderpinningtheadeliegeorgevcoasteastantarctica AT heleneseroussi heterogeneousbasalthermalconditionsunderpinningtheadeliegeorgevcoasteastantarctica |