Articles | Volume 14, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1673-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1673-2020
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

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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.