Strong Ocean Melting Feedback During the Recent Retreat of Thwaites Glacier

Holland, Paul R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8370-289X; Bevan, Suzanne L.; Luckman, Adrian J.. 2023 Strong Ocean Melting Feedback During the Recent Retreat of Thwaites Glacier. Geophysical Research Letters, 50 (8), e2023GL103088. 10, pp. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103088

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Official URL: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.102...

Abstract/Summary

Accelerating ice loss from Thwaites Glacier is contributing approximately 5% of global sea-level rise, and could add tens of centimeters to sea level over the coming centuries. We use an ocean model to calculate sub-ice melting for a succession of Digital Elevation Models of the main trunk of Thwaites Glacier from 2011 to 2022. The ice evolution during this period induces a strong geometrical feedback onto melting. Ice thinning and retreat provides a larger melting area, thicker and better-connected sub-ice water column, and steeper ice base. This leads to stronger sub-ice ocean currents, increasing melting by over 30% without any change in forcing from wider ocean conditions. This geometrical feedback over just 12 years is comparable to melting changes arising from plausible century-scale changes in ocean conditions and subglacial meltwater inflow. These findings imply that ocean-driven ice loss from Thwaites Glacier may only be weakly influenced by anthropogenic emissions mitigation.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103088
ISSN:	0094-8276
Additional Keywords:	ice-ocean interaction, sea-level rise, Southern Ocean, Antarctic Ice Sheet, Thwaites Glacier
Date made live:	12 Apr 2023 08:06 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/534329

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103088

ISSN:

0094-8276

Additional Keywords:

ice-ocean interaction, sea-level rise, Southern Ocean, Antarctic Ice Sheet, Thwaites Glacier

Date made live:

12 Apr 2023 08:06 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/534329