Majority of Antarctic Ice Shelves Sensitive to Meltwater Fracturing

Nature, August 26

Antarctic ice shelves – floating ice in contact with land ice – are both critical to maintaining ice sheet stability, and vulnerable to catastrophic fracturing from meltwater entering crevasses. Hydro-fracturing occurs when surface meltwater flows into and deepens pre-existing fractures, and is a potential mechanism driving sudden ice shelf collapse, as occurred with Larsen B in 2002, when over 3000 km² disintegrated over a one-month period. This study used satellite mapping to locate surface fractures vulnerable to hydro-fracturing, and found that 60% of Antarctic’s ice shelves (by area) are vulnerable to such events: where atmospheric warming and surface melting can trigger ice-shelf collapse.  Such ice shelf loss can accelerate mass loss and sea-level rise from the Antarctic Ice Sheet, especially under conditions of rising atmospheric temperatures.

Compiled by Amy Imdieke.