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Strong surface melting preceded collapse of Antarctic Peninsula ice shelf
Author(s) -
van den Broeke Michiel
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2005gl023247
Subject(s) - ice shelf , meltwater , geology , antarctic sea ice , peninsula , iceberg , sea ice , front (military) , oceanography , fast ice , ice stream , arctic ice pack , cryosphere , climatology , glacier , geomorphology , geography , archaeology
During the austral summer of 2001/02, melting at the surface of Larsen Ice Shelf in the Antarctic Peninsula was three times greater than the average of five previous summers. This exceptional melt event lasted for three months and was followed by the collapse of Larsen B Ice Shelf, during which 3,200 km 2 of ice shelf surface was lost. The strong melting was caused by a persistent atmospheric circulation anomaly, which depleted sea ice concentrations in front of Larsen Ice Shelf and transported warm air to the ice shelf throughout the 2001/02 summer. This supports the theory that large meltwater fluxes accelerate the retreat of Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves.