Journal article 313 views 21 downloads
High spatial and temporal variability in Antarctic ice discharge linked to ice shelf buttressing and bed geometry
Scientific Reports, Volume: 12, Issue: 1
Swansea University Author:
Jim Jordan
-
PDF | Version of Record
© The Author(s) 2022. Distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY 4.0).
Download (4.2MB)
DOI (Published version): 10.1038/s41598-022-13517-2
Abstract
Antarctica’s contribution to global mean sea level rise has been driven by an increase in ice discharge into the oceans. The rate of change and the mechanisms that drive variability in ice discharge are therefore important to consider in the context of projected future warming. Here, we report obser...
Published in: | Scientific Reports |
---|---|
ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2022
|
Online Access: |
Check full text
|
URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa64526 |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Abstract: |
Antarctica’s contribution to global mean sea level rise has been driven by an increase in ice discharge into the oceans. The rate of change and the mechanisms that drive variability in ice discharge are therefore important to consider in the context of projected future warming. Here, we report observations of both decadal trends and inter-annual variability in ice discharge across the Antarctic Ice Sheet at a variety of spatial scales that range from large drainage basins to individual outlet glacier catchments. Overall, we find a 37 ± 11 Gt year−1 increase in discharge between 1999 and 2010, but a much smaller increase of 4 ± 8 Gt year−1 between 2010 and 2018. Furthermore, comparisons reveal that neighbouring outlet glaciers can behave synchronously, but others show opposing trends, despite their close proximity. We link this spatial and temporal variability to changes in ice shelf buttressing and the modulating effect of local glacier geometry. |
---|---|
Keywords: |
Antarctic ice sheet, seal level rise, ice discharge, ice sheet, buttressing |
College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
Funders: |
NERC |
Issue: |
1 |