Articles | Volume 16, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2545-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2545-2022
Research article
 | 
27 Jun 2022
Research article |  | 27 Jun 2022

Rapid fragmentation of Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf

Douglas I. Benn, Adrian Luckman, Jan A. Åström, Anna J. Crawford, Stephen L. Cornford, Suzanne L. Bevan, Thomas Zwinger, Rupert Gladstone, Karen Alley, Erin Pettit, and Jeremy Bassis

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Cited articles

Alley, K. E., Wild, C. T., Luckman, A., Scambos, T. A., Truffer, M., Pettit, E. C., Muto, A., Wallin, B., Klinger, M., Sutterley, T., Child, S. F., Hulen, C., Lenaerts, J. T. M., Maclennan, M., Keenan, E., and Dunmire, D.: Two decades of dynamic change and progressive destabilization on the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, The Cryosphere, 15, 5187–5203, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5187-2021, 2021. 
Arndt, J. E., Larter, R. D., Friedl, P., Gohl, K., Höppner, K., and the Science Team of Expedition PS104: Bathymetric controls on calving processes at Pine Island Glacier, The Cryosphere, 12, 2039–2050, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2039-2018, 2018. 
Åström, J. A. and Benn, D. I.: Effective Rheology Across the Fragmentation Transition for Sea Ice and Ice Shelves, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 13099–13106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084896, 2019. 
Åström, J. A., Riikilä, T. I., Tallinen, T., Zwinger, T., Benn, D., Moore, J. C., and Timonen, J.: A particle based simulation model for glacier dynamics, The Cryosphere, 7, 1591–1602, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1591-2013, 2013. 
Åström, J., Cook, S., Enderlin, E. M., Sutherland, D. A., Mazur, A., and Glasser, N.: Fragmentation theory reveals processes controlling iceberg size distributions, J. Glaciol., 67, 603–612, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.14, 2021. 
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Short summary
Thwaites Glacier (TG), in West Antarctica, is potentially unstable and may contribute significantly to sea-level rise as global warming continues. Using satellite data, we show that Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, the largest remaining floating extension of TG, has started to accelerate as it fragments along a shear zone. Computer modelling does not indicate that fragmentation will lead to imminent glacier collapse, but it is clear that major, rapid, and unpredictable changes are underway.
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