Abstract
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 38,
L09502,
5 PP., 2011
doi:10.1029/2011GL046775
Acceleration and spatial rheology of Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula
- Assessing stability of Larsen C Ice Shelf through speed changes and rheology
- Ice shelf flow is accelerating in thinning/fracture areas
- Inferring plausible stabilizing role for marine ice in the suture zones
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, California, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
The disintegration of several Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves has focused attention on the state of the Larsen C Ice Shelf. Here, we use satellite observations to map ice shelf speed from the years 2000, 2006 and 2008 and apply inverse modeling to examine the spatial pattern of ice-shelf stiffness. Results show that the northern half of the ice shelf has been accelerating since 2000, speeding up by 15% between 2000 and 2006 alone. The distribution of ice stiffness exhibits large spatial variations that we link to tributary glacier flow and fractures. Our results reveal that ice down-flow from promontories is consistently softer, with the exception of Churchill Peninsula where we infer a stabilizing role for marine ice. We conclude that although Larsen C is not facing imminent collapse, it is undergoing significant change in the form of flow acceleration that is spatially related to thinning and fracture.
Received 18 January 2011; accepted 28 March 2011; published 13 May 2011.
Citation: (2011), Acceleration and spatial rheology of Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L09502, doi:10.1029/2011GL046775.
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