Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 3.26
Photograph of an Antarctic Peninsula ice shelf near Cape Foyn prior to
disintegration. Edge parallel crevasses indicate future calving. (Credit: NSIDC/ S. Tojeiro.)
small sea-level variations which could otherwise cause them to
ex and
break. If Antarctic surface air and ocean temperatures rise by several degrees
in response to increased anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations, such
warming may threaten the stability of the West Antarctic ice sheet, an issue
highlighted as one of the key
cant
progress is needed to quantify the magnitude and timing of the Antarctic
climate and ice sheet response risks.
Does Antarctica have wet feet? The evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet
is also controlled by what happens at the interface between ice and the
underlying rock. Surprisingly, an active subglacial water network has recently
been identi
'
climate tipping points
'
. However, signi
ed beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. At the base of the ice sheet, the
interplay between the dissipation of energy caused by ice friction as it
ows over the
bedrock and geothermal heating rising up from the core of the Earth induces
'
warm
'
temperatures, corresponding to the ice melting point. The melting and freezing
processes control the interaction between subglacial water and the overlying ice
sheet.
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