A simple law for ice-shelf calving.
A major problem for ice-sheet models is that no physically based law for the calving process has been established. Comparison across a diverse set of ice shelves demonstrates that iceberg calving increases with the along-flow spreading rate of a shelf. This relation suggests that frictional buttressing loss, which increases spreading, also leads to shelf retreat, a process known to accelerate ice-sheet flow and contribute to sea-level rise.
Alley
Richard B
RB
Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), University Park, PA 16802, USA. rba6@psu.edu
Horgan
Huw J
HJ
Joughin
Ian
I
Cuffey
Kurt M
KM
Dupont
Todd K
TK
Parizek
Byron R
BR
Anandakrishnan
Sridhar
S
Bassis
Jeremy
J