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Robotic exploration of sub-ice shelf melting and freezing processes

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A remotely-operated underwater vehicle was used to map the ice, ocean, and seafloor conditions near the point where the floating Ross Ice Shelf meets the seafloor, also known as the grounding line. The study identified refreezing crevasses and geomorphological signatures of past grounding line retreat.

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Fig. 1: Connected ice, ocean, and seafloor processes at the Kamb Ice Stream grounding line.

References

  1. Clough, J. W. & Hansen, B. L. The ross ice shelf project. Science 203, 433–434 (1979). An article that describes the first ice shelf borehole, which drilled through the Ross Ice Shelf 450 km from the open ocean in 1977; the authors found refreezing at the ice base and, surprisingly, macrofauna at the sea floor.

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  2. Sergienko, O. V. No general stability conditions for marine ice-sheet grounding lines in the presence of feedbacks. Nat. Commun. 13, 1–6 (2022). This work emphasizes a lack of general stability conditions for marine ice sheets, and demonstrates the importance of assessing regionally unique ice, ocean, and seafloor feedbacks.

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  3. Begeman, C. B. et al. Ocean stratification and low melt rates at the Ross Ice Shelf grounding zone. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans 123, 7438–7452 (2018). An article describing the first subglacial work along the Ross Ice Shelf grounding line, in which profiles in the 10 m water column showed stratification, currents below 3 cm s−1, and melt rates below 10 cm yr−1.

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This is a summary of: Lawrence, J. D. et al. Crevasse refreezing and signatures of retreat observed at Kamb Ice Stream grounding zone. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01129-y (2023).

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Robotic exploration of sub-ice shelf melting and freezing processes. Nat. Geosci. 16, 198–199 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01130-5

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