The role of föhn winds in eastern Antarctic Peninsula rapid ice shelf collapse

Laffin, Matthew K.; Zender, Charles S.; van Wessem, Melchior; Marinsek, Sebastián

doi:10.5194/tc-16-1369-2022

The role of föhn winds in eastern Antarctic Peninsula rapid ice shelf collapse

Journal Article · Wed Apr 13 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · The Cryosphere (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1369-2022· OSTI ID:1981305

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[3]; Marinsek, Sebastián ^[4]

University of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, USA
University of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
Utrecht University (Netherlands)
Instituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Ice shelf collapse reduces buttressing and enables grounded glaciers to contribute more rapidly to sea-level rise in a warming climate. The abrupt collapses of the Larsen A (1995) and B (2002) ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) occurred, at least for Larsen B, when long-period ocean swells damaged the calving front and the ice shelf was inundated with melt lakes that led to large-scale hydrofracture cascades. During collapse, field and satellite observations indicate föhn winds were present on both ice shelves. Here we use a regional climate model and machine learning analyses to evaluate the contributory roles of föhn winds and associated melt events prior to and during the collapses for ice shelves on the AP. Föhn winds caused about 25 % ± 3 % of the total annual melt in just 9 d on Larsen A prior to and during collapse and were present during the Larsen B collapse, which helped form extensive melt lakes. At the same time, the off-coast wind direction created by föhn winds helped melt and physically push sea ice away from the ice shelf calving fronts that allowed long-period ocean swells to reach and damage the front, which has been theorized to have ultimately triggered collapse. Collapsed ice shelves experienced enhanced surface melt driven by föhn winds over a large spatial extent and near the calving front, whereas SCAR inlet and the Larsen C ice shelves are affected less by föhn-wind-induced melt and do not experience large-scale melt ponds. These results suggest SCAR inlet and the Larsen C ice shelves may be less likely to experience rapid collapse due to föhn-driven melt so long as surface temperatures and föhn occurrence remain within historical bounds.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: University of California, Irvine, CA (United States); University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Science Foundation (NSF); Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0019278

OSTI ID:: 1981305

Journal Information:: The Cryosphere (Online), Journal Name: The Cryosphere (Online) Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 16; ISSN 1994-0424

Publisher:: Copernicus Publications, EGUCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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