Accumulation, velocities, fluxes and mass balance of glacial tributaries to the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system, Antarctica

By incorporating recently available remote sensing data, we investigated the mass balance for all individual tributary glacial basins of the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica. On the basis of the ice flow information derived from SAR interferometry and ICESat laser altimetry, we have determined the spatial configuration of eight tributary drainage basins of the Lambert-Amery glacial system. By combining the coherence information from SAR interferometry and the texture information from SAR and MODIS images, we have interpreted and refined the grounding line position. We calculated ice volume flux of each tributary glacial basin based on the ice velocity field derived from Radarsat three-pass interferometry together with ice thickness data interpolated from Australian and Russian airborne radio echo sounding (RES) surveys and inferred from ICESat laser altimetry data. Our analysis reveals that three tributary basins have a significant net positive imbalance, while five other subbasins are slightly positive or close to zero balance. Overall, in contrast to previous studies, we find that the grounded ice in Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system has a positive mass imbalance of 22.9 ± 4.4 Gt/a. The net basal melting for the entire Amery Ice Shelf is estimated to be 27.0 ± 7.0 Gt/a. The melting rate decreases rapidly from the grounding zone to the ice shelf front. Significant basal refreezing is detected in the downstream section of the ice shelf. The mass balance estimates for both the grounded ice sheet and the ice shelf mass differ substantially from other recent estimates.

Data from the EPICA Dome C ice core EDC

The Antarctic Vostok ice core provided compelling evidence of the nature of climate, and of climate feedbacks, over the past 420,000 years. Marine records suggest that the amplitude of climate variability was smaller before that time, but such records are often poorly resolved. Moreover, it is not possible to infer the abundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from marine records. Here we report the recovery of a deep ice core from Dome C, Antarctica, that provides a climate record for the past 740,000 years. For the four most recent glacial cycles, the data agree well with the record from Vostok. The earlier period, between 740,000 and 430,000 years ago, was characterized by less pronounced warmth in interglacial periods in Antarctica, but a higher proportion of each cycle was spent in the warm mode. The transition from glacial to interglacial conditions about 430,000 years ago (Termination V) resembles the transition into the present interglacial period in terms of the magnitude of change in temperatures and greenhouse gases, but there are significant differences in the patterns of change. The interglacial stage following Termination V was exceptionally long - 28,000 years compared to, for example, the 12,000 years recorded so far in the present interglacial period. Given the similarities between this earlier warm period and today, our results may imply that without human intervention, a climate similar to the present one would extend well into the future.

Age models and stable isotope analysis on sediment core Site 199-1218 from the equatorial Pacific

A 13-million-year continuous record of Oligocene climate from the equatorial Pacific reveals a pronounced "heartbeat" in the global carbon cycle and periodicity of glaciations. This heartbeat consists of 405,000-, 127,000-, and 96,000-year eccentricity cycles and 1.2-million-year obliquity cycles in periodically recurring glacial and carbon cycle events. That climate system response to intricate orbital variations suggests a fundamental interaction of the carbon cycle, solar forcing, and glacial events. Box modeling shows that the interaction of the carbon cycle and solar forcing modulates deep ocean acidity as well as the production and burial of global biomass. The pronounced 405,000-year eccentricity cycle is amplified by the long residence time of carbon in the oceans.

Modelling calving front dynamics using a level-set method: application to Jakobshavn Isbræ, West Greenland, links model results in MATLAB format

Calving is a major mechanism of ice discharge of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, and a change in calving front position affects the entire stress regime of marine terminating glaciers. The representation of calving front dynamics in a 2-D or 3-D ice sheet model remains non-trivial. Here, we present the theoretical and technical framework for a level-set method, an implicit boundary tracking scheme, which we implement into the Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM). This scheme allows us to study the dynamic response of a drainage basin to user-defined calving rates. We apply the method to Jakobshavn Isbræ, a major marine terminating outlet glacier of the West Greenland Ice Sheet. The model robustly reproduces the high sensitivity of the glacier to calving, and we find that enhanced calving triggers significant acceleration of the ice stream. Upstream acceleration is sustained through a combination of mechanisms. However, both lateral stress and ice influx stabilize the ice stream. This study provides new insights into the ongoing changes occurring at Jakobshavn Isbræ and emphasizes that the incorporation of moving boundaries and dynamic lateral effects, not captured in flow-line models, is key for realistic model projections of sea level rise on centennial timescales.

Heavy minerals, grain size distribution, and ice-rafted debris in the Greenland Sea during 44 to 30 Ma

The widely accepted age estimate for the onset of glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere ranges between 2 and 15 million years ago (Ma). However, recent studies indicate the date for glacial onset may be significantly older. We report the presence of ice-rafted debris (IRD) in ~44 to 30 Ma sediments from the Greenland Sea, evidence for glaciation in the North Atlantic during the Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene. Detailed sedimentological evidence indicates that glaciers extended to sea level in the region, allowing icebergs to be produced. IRD may have been sourced from tidewater glaciers, small ice caps, and/or a continental ice sheet.