Lateral flexure of Erebus Ice Tongue due to ocean current forcing and fast ice coupling
Ice tongues are unconfined by land on their lateral margins and are sensitive to external forcing from the ocean. They are found sporadically around the Antarctic coast but are common in the western Ross Sea. Lateral flexure creates bending stresses within these ice tongues which is likely to contri...
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Cambridge University Press
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143024000212/type/journal_article |
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| author | Rodrigo Gomez-Fell Wolfgang Rack Oliver J. Marsh Heather Purdie |
| author_facet | Rodrigo Gomez-Fell Wolfgang Rack Oliver J. Marsh Heather Purdie |
| author_sort | Rodrigo Gomez-Fell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ice tongues are unconfined by land on their lateral margins and are sensitive to external forcing from the ocean. They are found sporadically around the Antarctic coast but are common in the western Ross Sea. Lateral flexure creates bending stresses within these ice tongues which is likely to contribute to their fragility and may restrict their spatial distribution. A three-year time series (2017–2020) of synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) and differential interferometry (DInSAR) is used to observe the lateral flexure of the 10 km long Erebus Ice Tongue as a result of ocean currents. The fast ice area around the ice tongue was mapped during the same period. It was found that when fast ice was absent (34.7% of the time), the average lateral movement of the ice tongue was twice as high (0.44 m) as when it was embedded in fast ice (0.19 m). A significant correlation (0.45) between flexure and tidal currents was found when fast ice was absent. An analytical model tuned to observations suggests that even without sea ice for stabilisation, the lateral bending stresses induced by the ocean are insufficient to cause calving without additional amplifying factors. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e1be51a43ea4453b859116a050cc7b3c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e1be51a43ea4453b859116a050cc7b3c2025-01-16T21:49:36ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522024-01-017010.1017/jog.2024.21Lateral flexure of Erebus Ice Tongue due to ocean current forcing and fast ice couplingRodrigo Gomez-Fell0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0391-1323Wolfgang Rack1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2447-377XOliver J. Marsh2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7874-514XHeather Purdie3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2723-6908Gateway Antarctica, School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New ZealandGateway Antarctica, School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New ZealandBritish Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UKSchool of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New ZealandIce tongues are unconfined by land on their lateral margins and are sensitive to external forcing from the ocean. They are found sporadically around the Antarctic coast but are common in the western Ross Sea. Lateral flexure creates bending stresses within these ice tongues which is likely to contribute to their fragility and may restrict their spatial distribution. A three-year time series (2017–2020) of synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) and differential interferometry (DInSAR) is used to observe the lateral flexure of the 10 km long Erebus Ice Tongue as a result of ocean currents. The fast ice area around the ice tongue was mapped during the same period. It was found that when fast ice was absent (34.7% of the time), the average lateral movement of the ice tongue was twice as high (0.44 m) as when it was embedded in fast ice (0.19 m). A significant correlation (0.45) between flexure and tidal currents was found when fast ice was absent. An analytical model tuned to observations suggests that even without sea ice for stabilisation, the lateral bending stresses induced by the ocean are insufficient to cause calving without additional amplifying factors.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143024000212/type/journal_articleAntarctic glaciologyice/ocean interactionsice dynamicsice shelvesremote sensing |
| spellingShingle | Rodrigo Gomez-Fell Wolfgang Rack Oliver J. Marsh Heather Purdie Lateral flexure of Erebus Ice Tongue due to ocean current forcing and fast ice coupling Journal of Glaciology Antarctic glaciology ice/ocean interactions ice dynamics ice shelves remote sensing |
| title | Lateral flexure of Erebus Ice Tongue due to ocean current forcing and fast ice coupling |
| title_full | Lateral flexure of Erebus Ice Tongue due to ocean current forcing and fast ice coupling |
| title_fullStr | Lateral flexure of Erebus Ice Tongue due to ocean current forcing and fast ice coupling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lateral flexure of Erebus Ice Tongue due to ocean current forcing and fast ice coupling |
| title_short | Lateral flexure of Erebus Ice Tongue due to ocean current forcing and fast ice coupling |
| title_sort | lateral flexure of erebus ice tongue due to ocean current forcing and fast ice coupling |
| topic | Antarctic glaciology ice/ocean interactions ice dynamics ice shelves remote sensing |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143024000212/type/journal_article |
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