Geology Commons^™

The Link Between Climate Warming And Break-Up Of Ice Shelves In The Antarctic Peninsula, Ted A. Scambos, Christina L. Hulbe, Mark A. Fahnestock, Jennifer Bohlander

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

A review of in situ and remote-sensing data covering the ice shelves of the Antarctic Peninsula provides a series of characteristics closely associated with rapid shelf retreat: deeply embayed ice fronts; calving of myriad small elongate bergs in punctuated events; increasing flow speed; and the presence of melt ponds on the ice-shelf surface in the vicinity of the break-ups. As climate has warmed in the Antarctic Peninsula region, melt-season duration and the extent of ponding have increased. Most break-up events have occurred during longer melt seasons, suggesting that meltwater itself, not just warming, is responsible. Regions that show melting without …