Open AccessHeterogeneous retreat and ice melt of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica
Author(s) -
Pietro Milillo,
Eric Rignot,
Paola Rizzoli,
B. Scheuchl,
J. Mouginot,
José–Luis Bueso–Bello,
Pau Prats
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
science advances
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.928
H-Index - 146
ISSN - 2375-2548
DOI - 10.1126/sciadv.aau3433
Subject(s) - geology , glacier , ice shelf , ice sheet , ice stream , antarctic sea ice , ice divide , glacier ice accumulation , future sea level , buoyancy , lead (geology) , sea ice , cryosphere , seawater intrusion , oceanography , glacier morphology , geomorphology , physics , quantum mechanics , geotechnical engineering , aquifer , groundwater
The glaciers flowing into the Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, have undergone acceleration and grounding line retreat over the past few decades that may yield an irreversible mass loss. Using a constellation of satellites, we detect the evolution of ice velocity, ice thinning, and grounding line retreat of Thwaites Glacier from 1992 to 2017. The results reveal a complex pattern of retreat and ice melt, with sectors retreating at 0.8 km/year and floating ice melting at 200 m/year, while others retreat at 0.3 km/year with ice melting 10 times slower. We interpret the results in terms of buoyancy/slope-driven seawater intrusion along preferential channels at tidal frequencies leading to more efficient melt in newly formed cavities. Such complexities in ice-ocean interaction are not currently represented in coupled ice sheet/ocean models.
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