Ice shelf rift propagation: stability, three-dimensional effects, and the role of marginal weakening

Lipovsky, Bradley Paul

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1673-2020

Articles | Volume 14, issue 5

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1673-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1673-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 14, issue 5

Research article

|

27 May 2020

Research article |

| 27 May 2020

Ice shelf rift propagation: stability, three-dimensional effects, and the role of marginal weakening

Bradley Paul Lipovsky

Model code and software

Stress intensity factor solutions for rifts in a square ice shelf B. P. Lipovsky https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3774467

Short summary

Ice shelves promote the stability of marine ice sheets and therefore reduce the ice sheet contribution to sea level rise. Ice shelf rifts are through-cutting fractures that jeopardize this stabilizing tendency. Here, I carry out the first-ever 3D modeling of ice shelf rifts. I find that the overall ice shelf geometry – particularly the ice shelf margins – alters rift stability. This work paves the way to a more realistic depiction of rifting in ice sheet models.