Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf

Alley, Karen E.; Wild, Christian T.; Luckman, Adrian; Scambos, Ted A.; Truffer, Martin; Pettit, Erin C.; Muto, Atsuhiro; Wallin, Bruce; Klinger, Marin; Sutterley, Tyler; Child, Sarah F.; Hulen, Cyrus; M., Jan T.; Maclennan, Michelle; Keenan, Eric; Dunmire, Devon

doi:10.5194/tc-15-5187-2021

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Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf

Karen E. Alley

, Christian T. Wild, Adrian Luckman

, Ted A. Scambos

, Martin Truffer, Erin C. Pettit

, Atsuhiro Muto, Bruce Wallin

, Marin Klinger, Tyler Sutterley

, Sarah F. Child

, Cyrus Hulen, Jan T. M. Lenaerts

, Michelle Maclennan, Eric Keenan

, Devon Dunmire

The Cryosphere, Volume: 15, Issue: 11, Pages: 5187 - 5203

Swansea University Author: Adrian Luckman

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DOI (Published version): 10.5194/tc-15-5187-2021

Abstract

The Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf (TEIS) buttresses the eastern grounded portion of Thwaites Glacier through contact with a pinning point at its seaward limit. Loss of this ice shelf will promote further acceleration of Thwaites Glacier. Understanding the dynamic controls and structural integrity of th...

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Published in:	The Cryosphere
ISSN:	1994-0424
Published:	Copernicus GmbH 2021
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60421

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We present a ∼ 20-year record of change on the TEIS that reveals the dynamic controls governing the ice shelf's past behaviour and ongoing evolution. We derived ice velocities from MODIS and Sentinel-1 image data using feature tracking and speckle tracking, respectively, and we combined these records with ITS_LIVE and GOLIVE velocity products from Landsat-7 and Landsat-8. In addition, we estimated surface lowering and basal melt rates using the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) DEM in comparison to ICESat and ICESat-2 altimetry. Early in the record, TEIS flow dynamics were strongly controlled by the neighbouring Thwaites Western Ice Tongue (TWIT). Flow patterns on the TEIS changed following the disintegration of the TWIT around 2008, with a new divergence in ice flow developing around the pinning point at its seaward limit. Simultaneously, the TEIS developed new rifting that extends from the shear zone upstream of the ice rise and increased strain concentration within this shear zone. As these horizontal changes occurred, sustained thinning driven by basal melt reduced ice thickness, particularly near the grounding line and in the shear zone area upstream of the pinning point. 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spelling	2022-12-14T09:46:56.1456094 v2 60421 2022-07-08 Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf 008cb668b2671b653a88677f075799a9 0000-0002-9618-5905 Adrian Luckman Adrian Luckman true false 2022-07-08 BGPS The Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf (TEIS) buttresses the eastern grounded portion of Thwaites Glacier through contact with a pinning point at its seaward limit. Loss of this ice shelf will promote further acceleration of Thwaites Glacier. Understanding the dynamic controls and structural integrity of the TEIS is therefore important to estimating Thwaites' future sea-level contribution. We present a ∼ 20-year record of change on the TEIS that reveals the dynamic controls governing the ice shelf's past behaviour and ongoing evolution. We derived ice velocities from MODIS and Sentinel-1 image data using feature tracking and speckle tracking, respectively, and we combined these records with ITS_LIVE and GOLIVE velocity products from Landsat-7 and Landsat-8. In addition, we estimated surface lowering and basal melt rates using the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) DEM in comparison to ICESat and ICESat-2 altimetry. Early in the record, TEIS flow dynamics were strongly controlled by the neighbouring Thwaites Western Ice Tongue (TWIT). Flow patterns on the TEIS changed following the disintegration of the TWIT around 2008, with a new divergence in ice flow developing around the pinning point at its seaward limit. Simultaneously, the TEIS developed new rifting that extends from the shear zone upstream of the ice rise and increased strain concentration within this shear zone. As these horizontal changes occurred, sustained thinning driven by basal melt reduced ice thickness, particularly near the grounding line and in the shear zone area upstream of the pinning point. This evidence of weakening at a rapid pace suggests that the TEIS is likely to fully destabilize in the next few decades, leading to further acceleration of Thwaites Glacier. Journal Article The Cryosphere 15 11 5187 5203 Copernicus GmbH 1994-0424 22 11 2021 2021-11-22 10.5194/tc-15-5187-2021 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee National Science Foundation, Directorate for Geosciences (grant no. 1929991), Natural Environment Research Council, British Antarctic Survey (grant no. NE/S006419/1). 2022-12-14T09:46:56.1456094 2022-07-08T14:04:04.1198249 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography Karen E. Alley 0000-0003-0358-3806 1 Christian T. Wild 2 Adrian Luckman 0000-0002-9618-5905 3 Ted A. Scambos 0000-0003-4268-6322 4 Martin Truffer 5 Erin C. Pettit 0000-0002-6765-9841 6 Atsuhiro Muto 7 Bruce Wallin 0000-0002-4928-1814 8 Marin Klinger 9 Tyler Sutterley 0000-0002-6964-1194 10 Sarah F. Child 0000-0003-0677-2119 11 Cyrus Hulen 12 Jan T. M. Lenaerts 0000-0003-4309-4011 13 Michelle Maclennan 14 Eric Keenan 0000-0002-1511-9093 15 Devon Dunmire 16 60421__24510__cb3519ca654b4894859eddcccfe99461.pdf 60421.VOR.pdf 2022-07-08T14:08:59.7437446 Output 11359527 application/pdf Version of Record true This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY 4.0 License. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf
spellingShingle	Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf Adrian Luckman
title_short	Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf
title_full	Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf
title_fullStr	Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf
title_full_unstemmed	Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf
title_sort	Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf
author_id_str_mv	008cb668b2671b653a88677f075799a9
author_id_fullname_str_mv	008cb668b2671b653a88677f075799a9_***_Adrian Luckman
author	Adrian Luckman
author2	Karen E. Alley Christian T. Wild Adrian Luckman Ted A. Scambos Martin Truffer Erin C. Pettit Atsuhiro Muto Bruce Wallin Marin Klinger Tyler Sutterley Sarah F. Child Cyrus Hulen Jan T. M. Lenaerts Michelle Maclennan Eric Keenan Devon Dunmire
format	Journal article
container_title	The Cryosphere
container_volume	15
container_issue	11
container_start_page	5187
publishDate	2021
institution	Swansea University
issn	1994-0424
doi_str_mv	10.5194/tc-15-5187-2021
publisher	Copernicus GmbH
college_str	Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id	facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title	Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id	facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title	Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str	School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography
document_store_str	1
active_str	0
description	The Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf (TEIS) buttresses the eastern grounded portion of Thwaites Glacier through contact with a pinning point at its seaward limit. Loss of this ice shelf will promote further acceleration of Thwaites Glacier. Understanding the dynamic controls and structural integrity of the TEIS is therefore important to estimating Thwaites' future sea-level contribution. We present a ∼ 20-year record of change on the TEIS that reveals the dynamic controls governing the ice shelf's past behaviour and ongoing evolution. We derived ice velocities from MODIS and Sentinel-1 image data using feature tracking and speckle tracking, respectively, and we combined these records with ITS_LIVE and GOLIVE velocity products from Landsat-7 and Landsat-8. In addition, we estimated surface lowering and basal melt rates using the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) DEM in comparison to ICESat and ICESat-2 altimetry. Early in the record, TEIS flow dynamics were strongly controlled by the neighbouring Thwaites Western Ice Tongue (TWIT). Flow patterns on the TEIS changed following the disintegration of the TWIT around 2008, with a new divergence in ice flow developing around the pinning point at its seaward limit. Simultaneously, the TEIS developed new rifting that extends from the shear zone upstream of the ice rise and increased strain concentration within this shear zone. As these horizontal changes occurred, sustained thinning driven by basal melt reduced ice thickness, particularly near the grounding line and in the shear zone area upstream of the pinning point. This evidence of weakening at a rapid pace suggests that the TEIS is likely to fully destabilize in the next few decades, leading to further acceleration of Thwaites Glacier.
published_date	2021-11-22T02:41:10Z
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score	11.064692

Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf

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