Articles | Volume 20, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1997-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1997-2026
Research article
 | 
10 Apr 2026
Research article |  | 10 Apr 2026

Effects of subgrid-scale ice topography on the ice shelf basal melting simulated in NEMO-4.2.0

Dorothée Vallot, Nicolas C. Jourdain, and Pierre Mathiot

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Cited articles

Alley, K. E., Scambos, T. A., and Alley, R. B.: The role of channelized basal melt in ice-shelf stability: Recent progress and future priorities, Ann. Glaciol., 2019, 18–22, https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2023.5, 2023. a
Bassis, J. N., Crawford, A., Kachuck, S. B., Benn, D. I., Walker, C., Millstein, J., Duddu, R., Åström, J., Fricker, H. A., and Luckman, A.: Stability of Ice Shelves and Ice Cliffs in a Changing Climate, Annu. Rev. Earth Pl. Sc., 52, 221–247, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-040522-122817, 2024. a
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Bronselaer, B., Winton, M., Griffies, S. M., Hurlin, W. J., Rodgers, K. B., Sergienko, O. V., Stouffer, R. J., and Russell, J. L.: Change in future climate due to Antarctic meltwater, Nature, 564, 53–58, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0712-z, 2018. a
Burchard, H., Bolding, K., Jenkins, A., Losch, M., Reinert, M., and Umlauf, L.: The Vertical Structure and Entrainment of Subglacial Melt Water Plumes, J. Adv. Model. Earth Sy., 14, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002925, 2022. a, b
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Short summary
Some recent studies show that the topography at the base of an ice shelf has consequences for its interaction with the ocean. To describe friction velocity in the melt parameterisation, we use a drag coefficient dependent on the distance of the first wet cell to the ice and the basal topography rather than a fixed-tuned parameter. We find that it is less dependent on the choice of vertical resolution and, while providing similar total melt, it gives more weight to highly crevassed areas.
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