Sub-shelf melt pattern and ice sheet mass loss governed by meltwater flow below ice shelves

Jesse, Franka; Lambert, Erwin; van de Wal, Roderik S. W.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3849-2025

Articles | Volume 19, issue 9

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3849-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3849-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 9

Research article

|

16 Sep 2025

Research article |

| 16 Sep 2025

Sub-shelf melt pattern and ice sheet mass loss governed by meltwater flow below ice shelves

Franka Jesse, Erwin Lambert, and Roderik S. W. van de Wal

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3849-2025-supplement

Data sets

Data supporting "Sub-shelf melt pattern and ice sheet mass loss governed by meltwater flow below ice shelves'' from Jesse et al. F. Jesse https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14526103

Model code and software

Data analysis supporting Jesse et al. (2025) F. Jesse https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16881825

Video supplement

Data analysis supporting Jesse et al. (2025) F. Jesse https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16881825

Short summary

We introduce the coupling of a sub-shelf melt model with an ice sheet model to explore how horizontal meltwater flow below ice shelves affects ice sheet mass loss over time. We show that accurately modelling the meltwater flow direction leads to distinct feedbacks and transient volume loss not captured by melt parameterisations that simplify flow direction. Our results highlight the importance of refining the meltwater flow representation in ice sheet models to improve sea level projections.