Collaborative Research: Modeling Ice-ocean Interaction for the Rapidly Evolving Ice Shelf Cavities of Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, Antarctica

Lead PI: Pierre Dutrieux

Unit Affiliation: Ocean and Climate Physics, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)

July 2017 - June 2020
Inactive
Antarctica ; Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory ; University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory
Project Type: Research

DESCRIPTION: The West Antarctic Ice Sheet contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by 3-4 meters. Ice-sheet volume falls, and sea level increases, when more ice is lost to the ocean by glacier flow than is replaced by snowfall. Glacier speed is reduced when ice shelves, which are the floating extensions of the ice sheets, are present. Processes that affect ice shelf thickness and extent therefore influence the rates of grounded ice loss and sea-level rise. West Antarctica is currently losing ice, at an accelerating rate, with most loss occurring in the Amundsen Sea region via discharge from Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers. This loss was initiated by increased circulation of relatively warm ocean water beneath these glacier's ice shelves, causing them to thin by melting. However, this melting also depends on how the changing shape of the ice shelves affects the ocean circulation beneath them and the speeds of the grounded glaciers upstream. Limited understanding of these processes leads to uncertainties in estimates of future ice loss. This interdisciplinary project brings together glaciologists and oceanographers from three US institutions to study the interactions between changing glacier flow, ice shelf shape and extent, and ocean circulation. Data and numerical models will be used to identify the key processes that determine how rapidly this region can shed ice. The project team will train postdocs and graduate students in cutting-edge modeling techniques, and educate the public about Antarctic ice loss through talks, school science fairs, and Seattle Science Center's annual Polar Science Weekend.

SPONSOR:

University of Washington, Seattle Washington

ORIGINATING SPONSOR:

National Science Foundation

FUNDED AMOUNT:

$157,600

RESEARCH TEAM:

I. Joughin, L. Padman, S. R. Springer

EXTERNAL COLLABORATORS:

University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory, ESR

WEBSITE:

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1643285&HistoricalAwards=false

PUBLICATIONS:

Davis, Peter E. and Jenkins, Adrian and Nicholls, Keith W. and Brennan, Paul V. and Abrahamsen, E. Povl and Heywood, Karen J. and Dutrieux, Pierre and Cho, Kyoung-Ho and Kim, Tae-Wan. "Variability in Basal Melting Beneath Pine Island Ice Shelf on Weekly to Monthly Timescales," Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, v.123, 2018. doi:10.1029/2018JC014464 Citation details

Shean, David E. and Joughin, Ian R. and Dutrieux, Pierre and Smith, Benjamin E. and Berthier, Etienne. "Ice shelf basal melt rates from a high-resolution DEM record for Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica," The Cryosphere Discussions, 2018. doi:10.5194/tc-2018-209 Citation details

KEYWORDS

glaciers ice sheets sea level rise melting ice shelves

THEMES

Modeling and Adapting to Future Climate