Smith, Emma C., Hattermann, Tore, Kuhn, Gerhard ORCID: 0000-0001-6069-7485, Gaedicke, Christoph, Berger, Sophie ORCID: 0000-0003-4095-9323, Drews, Reinhard ORCID: 0000-0002-2328-294X, Ehlers, Todd A., Franke, Dieter ORCID: 0000-0002-1488-026X, Gromig, Rapahel, Hofstede, Coen, Lambrecht, Astrid, Laeufer, Andreas, Mayer, Christoph, Tiedemann, Ralf, Wilhelms, Frank ORCID: 0000-0001-7688-3135 and Eisen, Olaf ORCID: 0000-0002-6380-962X (2020). Detailed Seismic Bathymetry Beneath Ekstrom Ice Shelf, Antarctica: Implications for Glacial History and Ice-Ocean Interaction. Geophys. Res. Lett., 47 (10). WASHINGTON: AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. ISSN 1944-8007

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Abstract

The shape of ice shelf cavities are a major source of uncertainty in understanding ice-ocean interactions. This limits assessments of the response of the Antarctic ice sheets to climate change. Here we use vibroseis seismic reflection surveys to map the bathymetry beneath the Ekstrom Ice Shelf, Dronning Maud Land. The new bathymetry reveals an inland-sloping trough, reaching depths of 1,100 m below sea level, near the current grounding line, which we attribute to erosion by palaeo-ice streams. The trough does not cross-cut the outer parts of the continental shelf. Conductivity-temperature-depth profiles within the ice shelf cavity reveal the presence of cold water at shallower depths and tidal mixing at the ice shelf margins. It is unknown if warm water can access the trough. The new bathymetry is thought to be representative of many ice shelves in Dronning Maud Land, which together regulate the ice loss from a substantial area of East Antarctica. Plain Language Summary Antarctica is surrounded by floating ice shelves, which play a crucial role in regulating the flow of ice from the continent into the oceans. The ice shelves are susceptible to melting from warm ocean waters beneath them. In order to better understand the melting, knowledge of the shape and depth of the ocean cavity beneath ice shelves is crucial. In this study, we present new measurements of the sea floor depth beneath Ekstrom Ice Shelf in East Antarctica. The measurements reveal a much deeper sea floor than previously known. We discuss the implications of this for access of warm ocean waters, which can melt the base of the ice shelf and discuss how the observed sea floor features were formed by historical ice flow regimes. Although Ekstrom Ice Shelf is relatively small, the geometry described here is thought to be representative of the topography beneath many ice shelves in this region, which together regulate the ice loss from a substantial area of East Antarctica.

Item Type: Journal Article
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCIDORCID Put Code
Smith, Emma C.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Hattermann, ToreUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Kuhn, GerhardUNSPECIFIEDorcid.org/0000-0001-6069-7485UNSPECIFIED
Gaedicke, ChristophUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Berger, SophieUNSPECIFIEDorcid.org/0000-0003-4095-9323UNSPECIFIED
Drews, ReinhardUNSPECIFIEDorcid.org/0000-0002-2328-294XUNSPECIFIED
Ehlers, Todd A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Franke, DieterUNSPECIFIEDorcid.org/0000-0002-1488-026XUNSPECIFIED
Gromig, RapahelUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Hofstede, CoenUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lambrecht, AstridUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Laeufer, AndreasUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Mayer, ChristophUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Tiedemann, RalfUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Wilhelms, FrankUNSPECIFIEDorcid.org/0000-0001-7688-3135UNSPECIFIED
Eisen, OlafUNSPECIFIEDorcid.org/0000-0002-6380-962XUNSPECIFIED
URN: urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-332667
DOI: 10.1029/2019GL086187
Journal or Publication Title: Geophys. Res. Lett.
Volume: 47
Number: 10
Date: 2020
Publisher: AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
Place of Publication: WASHINGTON
ISSN: 1944-8007
Language: English
Faculty: Unspecified
Divisions: Unspecified
Subjects: no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:
KeywordsLanguage
SOUTHERN WEDDELL SEA; DRIVEN; MODEL; WATER; STABILITY; THICKNESS; TRANSPORT; VIBROSEIS; DYNAMICS; SURFACEMultiple languages
Geosciences, MultidisciplinaryMultiple languages
URI: http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/33266

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