Complex network of channels beneath an Antarctic ice shelf
Complex network of channels beneath an Antarctic ice shelf
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DOI：
10.1002/2013gl058947
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发表时间：
2014-02
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
Kirsty Langley;A. Deschwanden;Jack Kohler;A. Sinisalo;Kenichi Matsuoka;T. Hattermann;Angelika Humbert;O. Nøst;Elisabeth Isaksson
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文献类型：
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作者：
Kirsty Langley;A. Deschwanden;Jack Kohler;A. Sinisalo;Kenichi Matsuoka;T. Hattermann;Angelika Humbert;O. Nøst;Elisabeth Isaksson
冰架对大冰盖内部的冰起着重要的稳定作用。近年来观察到的主要冰架变薄，可能与温暖的海洋沃茨与冰架底部接触有关，使人们关注冰-海洋界面。在这里，我们揭示了一个复杂的网络子冰架渠道下的芬布尔冰架，南极洲，映射使用地面穿透雷达超过100平方公里的网格。这些通道宽300-500米，高50米，是所有报道中最窄的通道之一。观测冰架下的狭窄通道，该冰架主要被寒冷的海洋沃茨包围，温度接近表面冰点，表明通道化的基底融化并不局限于快速融化的冰架，这表明南极洲周围的空间融化模式可能会在尚未纳入冰海洋模型的尺度上变化。
Ice shelves play an important role in stabilizing the interior grounded ice of the large ice sheets. The thinning of major ice shelves observed in recent years, possibly in connection to warmer ocean waters coming into contact with the ice‐shelf base, has focused attention on the ice‐ocean interface. Here we reveal a complex network of sub ice‐shelf channels under the Fimbul Ice Shelf, Antarctica, mapped using ground‐penetrating radar over a 100 km2 grid. The channels are 300–500 m wide and 50 m high, among the narrowest of any reported. Observing narrow channels beneath an ice shelf that is mainly surrounded by cold ocean waters, with temperatures close to the surface freezing point, shows that channelized basal melting is not restricted to rapidly melting ice shelves, indicating that spatial melt patterns around Antarctica are likely to vary on scales that are not yet incorporated in ice‐ocean models.