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Glaciological history and structural evolution of the Shackleton Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica, over the past 60 years

Sarah S. Thompson, Bernd Kulessa Orcid Logo, Adrian Luckman Orcid Logo, Jacqueline A. Halpin Orcid Logo, Jamin S. Greenbaum, Tyler Pelle Orcid Logo, Feras Habbal, Jingxue Guo, Lenneke M. Jong Orcid Logo, Jason L. Roberts Orcid Logo, Bo Sun, Donald D. Blankenship

The Cryosphere, Volume: 17, Issue: 1, Pages: 157 - 174

Swansea University Authors: Bernd Kulessa Orcid Logo, Adrian Luckman Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.5194/tc-17-157-2023

Abstract

The discovery of Antarctica's deepest subglacial trough beneath the Denman Glacier, combined with high rates of basal melt at the grounding line, has caused significant concern over its vulnerability to retreat. Recent attention has therefore been focusing on understanding the controls driving...

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Published in: The Cryosphere
ISSN: 1994-0424
Published: Copernicus GmbH 2023
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa62245
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Recent attention has therefore been focusing on understanding the controls driving Denman Glacier's dynamic evolution. Here we consider the Shackleton system, comprised of the Shackleton Ice Shelf, Denman Glacier, and the adjacent Scott, Northcliff, Roscoe and Apfel glaciers, about which almost nothing is known. We widen the context of previously observed dynamic changes in the Denman Glacier to the wider region of the Shackleton system, with a multi-decadal time frame and an improved biannual temporal frequency of observations in the last 7 years (2015&#x2013;2022). We integrate new satellite observations of ice structure and airborne radar data with changes in ice front position and ice flow velocities to investigate changes in the system. Over the 60-year period of observation we find significant rift propagation on the Shackleton Ice Shelf and Scott Glacier and notable structural changes in the floating shear margins between the ice shelf and the outlet glaciers, as well as features indicative of ice with elevated salt concentration and brine infiltration in regions of the system. Over the period 2017&#x2013;2022 we observe a significant increase in ice flow speed (up to 50&#x2009;%) on the floating part of Scott Glacier, coincident with small-scale calving and rift propagation close to the ice front. We do not observe any seasonal variation or significant change in ice flow speed across the rest of the Shackleton system. Given the potential vulnerability of the system to accelerating retreat into the overdeepened, potentially sediment-filled bedrock trough, an improved understanding of the glaciological, oceanographic and geological conditions in the Shackleton system are required to improve the certainty of numerical model predictions, and we identify a number of priorities for future research. 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spelling 2023-02-03T11:08:30.1990277 v2 62245 2023-01-03 Glaciological history and structural evolution of the Shackleton Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica, over the past 60 years 52acda616e9f6073cbebf497def874c9 0000-0002-4830-4949 Bernd Kulessa Bernd Kulessa true false 008cb668b2671b653a88677f075799a9 0000-0002-9618-5905 Adrian Luckman Adrian Luckman true false 2023-01-03 BGPS The discovery of Antarctica's deepest subglacial trough beneath the Denman Glacier, combined with high rates of basal melt at the grounding line, has caused significant concern over its vulnerability to retreat. Recent attention has therefore been focusing on understanding the controls driving Denman Glacier's dynamic evolution. Here we consider the Shackleton system, comprised of the Shackleton Ice Shelf, Denman Glacier, and the adjacent Scott, Northcliff, Roscoe and Apfel glaciers, about which almost nothing is known. We widen the context of previously observed dynamic changes in the Denman Glacier to the wider region of the Shackleton system, with a multi-decadal time frame and an improved biannual temporal frequency of observations in the last 7 years (2015–2022). We integrate new satellite observations of ice structure and airborne radar data with changes in ice front position and ice flow velocities to investigate changes in the system. Over the 60-year period of observation we find significant rift propagation on the Shackleton Ice Shelf and Scott Glacier and notable structural changes in the floating shear margins between the ice shelf and the outlet glaciers, as well as features indicative of ice with elevated salt concentration and brine infiltration in regions of the system. Over the period 2017–2022 we observe a significant increase in ice flow speed (up to 50 %) on the floating part of Scott Glacier, coincident with small-scale calving and rift propagation close to the ice front. We do not observe any seasonal variation or significant change in ice flow speed across the rest of the Shackleton system. Given the potential vulnerability of the system to accelerating retreat into the overdeepened, potentially sediment-filled bedrock trough, an improved understanding of the glaciological, oceanographic and geological conditions in the Shackleton system are required to improve the certainty of numerical model predictions, and we identify a number of priorities for future research. With access to these remote coastal regions a major challenge, coordinated internationally collaborative efforts are required to quantify how much the Shackleton region is likely to contribute to sea level rise in the coming centuries. Journal Article The Cryosphere 17 1 157 174 Copernicus GmbH 1994-0424 16 1 2023 2023-01-16 10.5194/tc-17-157-2023 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee This research has been supported by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, Australian Government (grant no. ASCI000002), the AXA Research Fund (post-doctoral fellowship), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 41941007), the Australian Antarctic Division (project no. 4346), the Antarctic Gateway Partnership (University of Tasmania, Australia), and NASA (grant no. 80NSSC22K0387). 2023-02-03T11:08:30.1990277 2023-01-03T11:58:00.1366648 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography Sarah S. Thompson 1 Bernd Kulessa 0000-0002-4830-4949 2 Adrian Luckman 0000-0002-9618-5905 3 Jacqueline A. Halpin 0000-0002-4992-8681 4 Jamin S. Greenbaum 5 Tyler Pelle 0000-0002-9772-1730 6 Feras Habbal 7 Jingxue Guo 8 Lenneke M. Jong 0000-0001-6707-570x 9 Jason L. Roberts 0000-0002-3477-4069 10 Bo Sun 11 Donald D. Blankenship 12 62245__26455__43fcf1f5413240afa4b3b7cf982d9bb9.pdf 62245_VoR.pdf 2023-02-03T11:06:53.7395171 Output 17065136 application/pdf Version of Record true © Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Glaciological history and structural evolution of the Shackleton Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica, over the past 60 years
spellingShingle Glaciological history and structural evolution of the Shackleton Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica, over the past 60 years
Bernd Kulessa
Adrian Luckman
title_short Glaciological history and structural evolution of the Shackleton Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica, over the past 60 years
title_full Glaciological history and structural evolution of the Shackleton Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica, over the past 60 years
title_fullStr Glaciological history and structural evolution of the Shackleton Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica, over the past 60 years
title_full_unstemmed Glaciological history and structural evolution of the Shackleton Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica, over the past 60 years
title_sort Glaciological history and structural evolution of the Shackleton Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica, over the past 60 years
author_id_str_mv 52acda616e9f6073cbebf497def874c9
008cb668b2671b653a88677f075799a9
author_id_fullname_str_mv 52acda616e9f6073cbebf497def874c9_***_Bernd Kulessa
008cb668b2671b653a88677f075799a9_***_Adrian Luckman
author Bernd Kulessa
Adrian Luckman
author2 Sarah S. Thompson
Bernd Kulessa
Adrian Luckman
Jacqueline A. Halpin
Jamin S. Greenbaum
Tyler Pelle
Feras Habbal
Jingxue Guo
Lenneke M. Jong
Jason L. Roberts
Bo Sun
Donald D. Blankenship
format Journal article
container_title The Cryosphere
container_volume 17
container_issue 1
container_start_page 157
publishDate 2023
institution Swansea University
issn 1994-0424
doi_str_mv 10.5194/tc-17-157-2023
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 discovery of Antarctica's deepest subglacial trough beneath the Denman Glacier, combined with high rates of basal melt at the grounding line, has caused significant concern over its vulnerability to retreat. Recent attention has therefore been focusing on understanding the controls driving Denman Glacier's dynamic evolution. Here we consider the Shackleton system, comprised of the Shackleton Ice Shelf, Denman Glacier, and the adjacent Scott, Northcliff, Roscoe and Apfel glaciers, about which almost nothing is known. We widen the context of previously observed dynamic changes in the Denman Glacier to the wider region of the Shackleton system, with a multi-decadal time frame and an improved biannual temporal frequency of observations in the last 7 years (2015–2022). We integrate new satellite observations of ice structure and airborne radar data with changes in ice front position and ice flow velocities to investigate changes in the system. Over the 60-year period of observation we find significant rift propagation on the Shackleton Ice Shelf and Scott Glacier and notable structural changes in the floating shear margins between the ice shelf and the outlet glaciers, as well as features indicative of ice with elevated salt concentration and brine infiltration in regions of the system. Over the period 2017–2022 we observe a significant increase in ice flow speed (up to 50 %) on the floating part of Scott Glacier, coincident with small-scale calving and rift propagation close to the ice front. We do not observe any seasonal variation or significant change in ice flow speed across the rest of the Shackleton system. Given the potential vulnerability of the system to accelerating retreat into the overdeepened, potentially sediment-filled bedrock trough, an improved understanding of the glaciological, oceanographic and geological conditions in the Shackleton system are required to improve the certainty of numerical model predictions, and we identify a number of priorities for future research. With access to these remote coastal regions a major challenge, coordinated internationally collaborative efforts are required to quantify how much the Shackleton region is likely to contribute to sea level rise in the coming centuries.
published_date 2023-01-16T14:26:58Z
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