Surface melt and ponding on Larsen C Ice shelf and the impact of foehn winds

Luckman, Adrian; Elvidge, Andrew; Jansen, Daniela; Kulessa, Bernd; Kuipers-Munneke, Peter; King, John ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3315-7568; Barrand, Nick. 2014 Surface melt and ponding on Larsen C Ice shelf and the impact of foehn winds. Antarctic Science, 26 (06). 625-635. 10.1017/S0954102014000339

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Abstract/Summary

A common precursor to ice shelf disintegration, most notably that of Larsen B Ice Shelf, is unusually intense or prolonged surface melt and the presence of surface standing water. However, there has been little research into detailed patterns of melt on ice shelves or the nature of summer melt ponds. We investigated surface melt on Larsen C Ice Shelf at high resolution using Envisat advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) data and explored melt ponds in a range of satellite images. The improved spatial resolution of SAR over alternative approaches revealed anomalously long melt duration in western inlets. Meteorological modelling explained this pattern by föhn winds which were common in this region.Melt ponds are difficult to detect using optical imagery because cloud-free conditions are rare in this region and ponds quickly freeze over, but can be monitored using SAR in all weather conditions. Melt ponds up to tens of kilometres in length were common in Cabinet Inlet, where melt duration was most prolonged. The pattern of melt explains the previously observed distribution of ice shelf densification, which in parts had reached levels that preceded the collapse of Larsen B Ice Shelf, suggesting a potential role for föhn winds in promoting unstable conditions on ice shelves.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1017/S0954102014000339
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Climate
ISSN:	0954-1020
Additional Keywords:	Antarctica, Envisat ASAR, hydrofracture, ice shelf stability, melt ponds, orographic flow
Date made live:	18 Nov 2014 11:37 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/503295

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1017/S0954102014000339

Programmes:

BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Climate

ISSN:

0954-1020

Additional Keywords:

Antarctica, Envisat ASAR, hydrofracture, ice shelf stability, melt ponds, orographic flow

Date made live:

18 Nov 2014 11:37 +0 (UTC)