The influence of subglacial lake discharge on Thwaites Glacier ice-shelf melting and grounding-line retreat.

ABSTRACT: The retreat of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is conventionally attributed to increased ocean melting of ice shelves, potentially enhanced by internal instability from grounding lines near retrograde bed slopes. Ocean melting is enhanced by increased intrusion of modified Circumpolar Deep Water (mCDW) into ice shelf cavities. Upwelling from the release of subglacial meltwater can enhance mCDW's melting ability, though its efficacy is not well understood and is not represented in current ice sheet loss projections. Here we quantify this process during an exceptional subglacial lake drainage event under Thwaites Glacier. We found that the buoyant plume from the subglacial discharge temporarily doubled the rate of ocean melting under Thwaites, thinning the ice shelf. These events likely contributed

SUBMITTER: Gourmelen N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11885594 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature