On the evolution of an ice shelf melt channel at the base of Filchner Ice Shelf, from observations and viscoelastic modeling

Angelika Humbert, Julia Christmann, Hugh F. J. Corr, Veit Helm, Lea-Sophie Höyns, Coen Hofstede, Ralf Müller, Niklas Neckel, Keith W. Nicholls, Timm Schultz, Daniel Steinhage, Michael Wolovick, and Ole Zeising

Data sets

Melt rates of 44 repeated phase-sensitive radar point measurements between December 2015/January 2016 and December 2016 at the Filchner Ice Shelf, Antarctica Ole Zeising, Daniel Steinhage, and Angelika Humbert https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.941400

Stake surface accumulation measurements at Filchnner Ice Shelf between December 2015/January 2016 and December 2016 Ole Zeising, Daniel Steinhage, and Angelika Humbert https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.940252

Autonomous phase-sensitive radar (ApRES) measurements at a basal melt channel of the southern Filchner Ice Shelf, Antarctica between 2016/17 and 2017/18. Ole Zeising, Daniel Steinhage, and Angelika Humbert https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.932413

GNSS measurements at a basal melt channel of the southern Filchner Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Ole Zeising, Veit Helm, Daniel Steinhage, and Angelika Humbert https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.932441

Seismic reflection data of a basal channel and ocean cavity at the ice shelf-grounding line area of Support Force Glacier, Filchner Ice Shelf, Antarctica C. Hofstede, S. Beyer, H. F. J. Corr, O. Eisen, T. Hattermann, V. Helm, N. Neckel, E. C. Smith, D. Steinhage, O. Zeising, and A. Humbert https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.932278

MEaSUREs BedMachine Antarctica M. Morlighem https://doi.org/10.5067/E1QL9HFQ7A8M

MEaSUREs Phase-Based Antarctica Ice Velocity Map J. Mouginot, E. Rignot, and B. Scheuchl https://doi.org/10.5067/PZ3NJ5RXRH10

Model code and software

Viscoelastic Finite Strain Meltchannel Julia Christmann https://gitlab.awi.de/jchristm/viscoelastic-finite-defos-meltchannel

COMice-ve-fs as used in Humbert et al., The Cyrosphere Julia Christmann, Angelika Humbert, Timm Schultz, and Ralf Müller https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7101449

Short summary

Ice shelves are normally flat structures that fringe the Antarctic continent. At some locations they have channels incised into their underside. On Filchner Ice Shelf, such a channel is more than 50 km long and up to 330 m high. We conducted field measurements of basal melt rates and found a maximum of 2 m yr⁻¹. Simulations represent the geometry evolution of the channel reasonably well. There is no reason to assume that this type of melt channel is destabilizing ice shelves.