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| Titel |
Sensitivity studies of ice flow acceleration in response to increased ice shelf melting in the region of Pine Island Glacier. |
| VerfasserIn |
Eric Larour, Eric Rignot, Dimitris Menemenlis, Michael Schodlok, Hélène Seroussi, Mathieu Morlighem |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2011
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 13 (2011) |
| Datensatznummer |
250056710
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| Zusammenfassung |
| E. Larour, E. Rignot, D. Menemenlis, M. Schodlok, H. Seroussi, M. Morlighem
Sensitivity studies of ice flow acceleration in response to increased ice shelf melting in
the region of Pine Island Glacier.
The acceleration of Pine Island Glacier in the last decade correlates significantly with an
increase in ocean temperatures in the Amundsen Sea during the same period. Although
studies have been carried out to try and link both phenomenons, the demonstration of a
significant link between sub-cavity ice shelf melting and ice flow acceleration remains an
open question. Here, we present a new coupled ocean circulation/ice flow model, based on
the MITgcm and ISSM models, that includes significant coupling between the sub-ice shelf
cavity ocean circulation and the glacier ice flow. Computed melting rates are used to
constrain ice flow, which in turn is used to constrain geometry of the sub-ice shelf cavity. The
model is applied to the Amundsen Sea/Pine Island Glacier, to try and assess the
sensitivity of ice flow acceleration to a scenario of increased melting under the ice
shelf. The results show significant ice flow acceleration on a short term basis (10 to
100 years), as well as modification of the ocean circulation under the ice shelf, in
response to a changing sub-ice shelf cavity geometry. These results demonstrate
that there are significant links between changing ocean circulation patterns in the
Amundsen Sea and sudden ice flow acceleration of Pine Island Glacier in the last
decade.
This work was performed at the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s
Cryosphere Science Program. |
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