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

Abstract

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 havemore » 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.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. University of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
  2. Utrecht University (Netherlands)
  3. Instituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
OSTI Identifier:
1981305
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0019278; NRT-1633631; 80NSSC17K0540; VI.Veni.192.083
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
The Cryosphere (Online)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: The Cryosphere (Online); Journal Volume: 16; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1994-0424
Publisher:
Copernicus Publications, EGU
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES

Citation Formats

Laffin, Matthew K., Zender, Charles S., van Wessem, Melchior, and Marinsek, Sebastián. The role of föhn winds in eastern Antarctic Peninsula rapid ice shelf collapse. United States: N. p., 2022. Web. doi:10.5194/tc-16-1369-2022.
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Laffin, Matthew K., Zender, Charles S., van Wessem, Melchior, & Marinsek, Sebastián. The role of föhn winds in eastern Antarctic Peninsula rapid ice shelf collapse. United States. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1369-2022
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Laffin, Matthew K., Zender, Charles S., van Wessem, Melchior, and Marinsek, Sebastián. Wed . "The role of föhn winds in eastern Antarctic Peninsula rapid ice shelf collapse". United States. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1369-2022. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1981305.
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@article{osti_1981305,
title = {The role of föhn winds in eastern Antarctic Peninsula rapid ice shelf collapse},
author = {Laffin, Matthew K. and Zender, Charles S. and van Wessem, Melchior and Marinsek, Sebastián},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {10.5194/tc-16-1369-2022},
journal = {The Cryosphere (Online)},
number = 4,
volume = 16,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Apr 13 00:00:00 EDT 2022},
month = {Wed Apr 13 00:00:00 EDT 2022}
}
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