In 2002, the Larsen
B ice shelf collapsed; in 2003, the World Glacial Monitoring Service reported that «The recent increase in the rates of ice loss over reduced glacier surface areas as compared with earlier losses related to larger surface areas (cf. the thorough revision of available data by Dyurgerov, 2002) becomes even more pronounced and leaves no doubt about the accelerating change in climatic conditions.»
So when the northern part of the Larsen
B ice shelf collapsed into the sea in March 2002, it was not a total surprise.
Two years ago, Antarctica's Larsen
B ice shelf collapsed over the course of 35 days; 3,250 square kilometers of shelf area — an area larger than that of Rhode Island — disintegrated.
The trough was unveiled in the 2002 Larsen
B ice shelf collapse.
A structural glaciological analysis of the 2002 Larsen
B ice shelf collapse.
Not exact matches
Large sections of the Larsen
Ice Shelf A and B, and the Wilkins1 ice - shelf collapsed in a matter of days in 1995, 2002, and 2008, respective
Ice Shelf A and
B, and the Wilkins1
ice - shelf collapsed in a matter of days in 1995, 2002, and 2008, respective
ice -
shelf collapsed in a matter of days in 1995, 2002, and 2008, respectively.
But as the chain of
ice shelf collapse pushes farther south from the peninsula's tip toward the mainland, to Larsen
B and Scar Inlet, it is now entering the ominous realm of historical anomaly.
The Larsen A and
B ice shelves, which were situated further north on the Antarctic Peninsula,
collapsed in 1995 and 2002, respectively.
All told, if the eastern and western Antarctic
ice shelves were to melt completely, they would raise sea levels by as much as 230 feet (70 meters); the
collapse of smaller
shelves like Larsen
B has sped up the flow of glaciers behind them into the sea, contributing to the creeping up of high tide levels around the world.
Scambos's group predicted the final Larsen
B collapse using a model that looks at how much meltwater has pooled on the surface of the
ice, and he now hopes to apply the model to bigger Antarctic
ice shelves.
The northern section of the Larsen
B ice shelf — a thick slab of floating
ice on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula — has
collapsed and separated from the continent, researchers report.
That makes it vulnerable to
collapse, because seawater can flow in underneath it and transform its edge into a floating
ice shelf like Larsen
B, which might then break up, freeing the
ice behind it.
Now seafloor sediments reveal that Larsen
B's grounding line had remained stable for thousands of years before the
ice shelf's
collapse.
Only floating sea
ice (bottom right) remains of the
collapsed Larsen
B ice shelf off the Antarctic Peninsula.
• Data from NASA, European, and Canadian satellites show a continuing impact from the
collapse of the Larsen
B ice shelf in early 2002.
While researchers quickly linked the breakup to lakes of meltwater that had accumulated on the so - called Larsen
B ice shelf's upper surface and then wedged apart deep crevasses, they hadn't come up with a convincing explanation for what triggered the
collapse.
Leaving aside the
collapse of the Larsen -
B ice shelf and other
ice shelves in Antarctica, is it too simplistic to expect that dramatic changes should be anticipated first in the Arctic because it is sea covered by a few meters of sea
ice and therefore more susceptible to change, in comparison to Antarctica (which is obviously land covered by glacial
ice up to several kilometers thick in places)?
Larsen
B collapsed shortly after its major calving event while the Wilkins
ice shelf has continued to shed large chunks of
ice since 2008.
Scambos TA, Bohlander JA, Shuman CA, Skvarca P. Glacier acceleration and thinning after
ice shelf collapse in the Larsen
B embayment, Antarctica.
Glacier acceleration and thinning after
ice shelf collapse in the Larsen
B embayment, Antarctica.
Leaving aside the
collapse of the Larsen -
B ice shelf and other
ice shelves in Antarctica, is it too simplistic to expect that dramatic changes should be anticipated first in the Arctic because it is sea covered by a few meters of sea
ice and therefore more susceptible to change, in comparison to Antarctica (which is obviously land covered by glacial
ice up to several kilometers thick in places)?
Accelerated
ice discharge from the Antarctic Peninsula following the
collapse of Larsen
B ice shelf E. Rignot, G. Casassa, P. Gogineni, W. Krabill, A. Rivera, and R. Thomas Geophysical Research Letters, Vol.
Glacier acceleration and thinning after
ice shelf collapse in the Larsen
B embayment, Antarctica.
A previous post noted that the recent
collapse of Wordie
Ice Shelf, Mueller Ice Shelf, Jones Ice Shelf, Larsen - A and Larsen - B Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula has made us aware of how dynamic ice shelf systems a
Ice Shelf, Mueller
Ice Shelf, Jones Ice Shelf, Larsen - A and Larsen - B Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula has made us aware of how dynamic ice shelf systems a
Ice Shelf, Jones
Ice Shelf, Larsen - A and Larsen - B Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula has made us aware of how dynamic ice shelf systems a
Ice Shelf, Larsen - A and Larsen -
B Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula has made us aware of how dynamic ice shelf systems a
Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula has made us aware of how dynamic
ice shelf systems a
ice shelf systems are.
Accelerated
ice discharge from the Antarctic Peninsula following the
collapse of Larsen
B ice shelf.
The researchers found that stronger westerly winds in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, fueled primarily by human - induced climate change, were responsible for the dramatic summer warming that led to the retreat and
collapse of the Larsen
B ice shelf.
Indeed, when Antarctica's Larsen
B Ice Shelf collapsed in the early 2000s, the inland ice flow sped up nearly tenfold, proving that a mechanical link exists between ice shelf and inland ice she
Ice Shelf collapsed in the early 2000s, the inland
ice flow sped up nearly tenfold, proving that a mechanical link exists between ice shelf and inland ice she
ice flow sped up nearly tenfold, proving that a mechanical link exists between
ice shelf and inland ice she
ice shelf and inland
ice she
ice sheet.
When the
ice shelf Larsen
B collapsed in 2002, the speed at which the on - land glaciers connected to it moved to the sea increased by as much as a factor of eight.
What UHI caused the 6000 year old Larsen
B & Wilkins
ice shelves to
collapse into slush?
The polar experts, studying the effects of global warming on the icy continent that is devoted to science, fear a repeat of the 2002
collapse of the Larsen
B ice shelf.