Bathymetric controls on calving processes at Pine Island Glacier

Arndt, Jan Erik; Larter, Robert D.; Friedl, Peter; Gohl, Karsten; Höppner, Kathrin; the Science Team of Expedition PS104,

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2039-2018

Articles | Volume 12, issue 6

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2039-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2039-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 12, issue 6

Research article

|

15 Jun 2018

Research article |

| 15 Jun 2018

Bathymetric controls on calving processes at Pine Island Glacier

Jan Erik Arndt, Robert D. Larter, Peter Friedl, Karsten Gohl, Kathrin Höppner, and the Science Team of Expedition PS104

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2039-2018-supplement

Data sets

Bathymetry measured near Pine Island Glacier during POLARSTERN cruise PS104 J. E. Arndt https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.881546

Short summary

The calving line location of the Pine Island Glacier did not show any trend within the last 70 years until calving in 2015 led to unprecedented retreat. In February 2017 we accessed this previously ice-shelf-covered area with RV Polarstern and mapped the sea-floor topography for the first time. Satellite imagery of the last decades show how the newly mapped shoals affected the ice shelf development and highlights that sea-floor topography is an important factor in initiating calving events.