The grounding line of the southern Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica can shift up to 15 km with changing tides, new analysis shows. The research, published today in The Cryosphere, examines the key region where land-based Antarctic ice spills over into the surrounding ocean. Observing and understanding the dynamics of this region can help scientists predict Antarctica's response to climate change, and so how much global sea levels will rise.
Earlier measurements of such grounding line movement were restricted to small regions over short timescales. In the new study, the researchers monitored a large chunk of the Ronne Ice Shelf grounding line for nearly five years.
The 15 km shift in the grounding line position between high and low tide described in the new paper is the one of the largest observed anywhere in Antarctica. It shows the grounding line can move at more than 30 km per hour, flushingThis exposure to sea water could help the ice melt more quickly from below. In less stable Antarctic regions, such as the Thwaites Glacier, this process is known to have driven long-term historic grounding line retreat.
"It's vital that we improve both our observations and modeling of these tidal processes, to better understand how they operate and work out the likely implications for long-term ice sheet change," Freer says.
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