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Dynamic Influence of Pinning Points on Marine Ice-Sheet Stability: a Numerical Study in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica

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Dynamic Influence of Pinning Points on Marine Ice-Sheet Stability: a Numerical Study in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica The Cryosphere, 10, 2623–2635, 2016 www.the-cryosphere.net/10/2623/2016/ doi:10.5194/tc-10-2623-2016 © Author(s) 2016. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Dynamic influence of pinning points on marine ice-sheet stability: a numerical study in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica Lionel Favier, Frank Pattyn, Sophie Berger, and Reinhard Drews Laboratoire de Glaciologie, DGES, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium Correspondence to: Lionel Favier ([email protected]) Received: 6 June 2016 – Published in The Cryosphere Discuss.: 16 June 2016 Revised: 26 September 2016 – Accepted: 22 October 2016 – Published: 9 November 2016 Abstract. The East Antarctic ice sheet is likely more sta- 1 Introduction ble than its West Antarctic counterpart because its bed is largely lying above sea level. However, the ice sheet in Dron- The marine ice-sheet instability (MISI) (Weertman, 1974; ning Maud Land, East Antarctica, contains marine sectors Thomas and Bentley, 1978) hypothesis states that a marine that are in contact with the ocean through overdeepened ma- ice sheet with its grounding line – the boundary between rine basins interspersed by grounded ice promontories and grounded and floating ice – resting on an upsloping bed to- ice rises, pinning and stabilising the ice shelves. In this pa- wards the sea is potentially unstable. A prior retreat of the per, we use the ice-sheet model BISICLES to investigate the grounding line (e.g. ocean-driven) resting on such an up- effect of sub-ice-shelf melting, using a series of scenarios sloping bed thickens the ice at the grounding line, which in- compliant with current values, on the ice-dynamic stability of creases the ice flux and induces further retreat, etc., until a the outlet glaciers between the Lazarev and Roi Baudouin ice downsloping bed is reached, provided that upstream snow- shelves over the next millennium. Overall, the sub-ice-shelf fall balances local flux at the grounding line. The MISI hy- melting substantially impacts the sea-level contribution. Lo- pothesis has been verified using the boundary layer theory cally, we predict a short-term rapid grounding-line retreat of developed by Schoof(2007) and simulated with numerical the overdeepened outlet glacier Hansenbreen, which further studies (e.g. Durand et al., 2009). Because most of the West induces the transition of the bordering ice promontories into Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) rests on an upsloping bed, the po- ice rises. Furthermore, our analysis demonstrated that the on- tential retreat of its grounding line is widespread. Therefore, set of the marine ice-sheet retreat and subsequent promontory the vulnerability of the WAIS to current climate change has transition into ice rise is controlled by small pinning points, been extensively studied (e.g. Cornford et al., 2015; Deconto mostly uncharted in pan-Antarctic datasets. Pinning points and Pollard, 2016). On the other hand, the East Antarctic ice have a twofold impact on marine ice sheets. They decrease sheet (EAIS) is less vulnerable to retreat on short timescales, the ice discharge by buttressing effect, and they play a cru- and its stability has therefore been less debated. However, a cial role in initialising marine ice sheets through data assim- recent numerical study investigating ice-sheet instability in ilation, leading to errors in ice-shelf rheology when omitted. Antarctica through a statistical approach (Ritz et al., 2015) Our results show that unpinning increases the sea-level rise pointed out the likeliness for unstable retreat of grounding by 10 %, while omitting the same pinning point in data as- lines in Dronning Maud Land (DML), East Antarctica, over similation decreases it by 10 %, but the more striking effect the next two centuries. Moreover, the EAIS hosts 10 times is in the promontory transition time, advanced by two cen- more ice than the WAIS, and therefore its future stability turies for unpinning and delayed by almost half a millennium needs to be more investigated. when the pinning point is missing in data assimilation. Pin- In DML, the floating margins of outlet glaciers are but- ning points exert a subtle influence on ice dynamics at the tressed by numerous topographic highs, which attach to the kilometre scale, which calls for a better knowledge of the otherwise floating ice shelves from beneath and form icy pin- Antarctic margins. ning points protruding through ice. Pinning points are either called ice rises or ice rumples. The former exhibit a local- Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 2624 L. Favier et al.: Dynamic influence of pinning points on marine ice-sheet stability flow regime, while the latter are still overridden by the main In areas where ice/bed geometry and surface velocity are ice flow. Ice promontories are ice rises that are connected to not correctly resolved, the inferred parameters are likely the mainland through a grounded saddle. Most ice rumples flawed. Recently, Fürst et al.(2016) investigated the band of and a significant number of ice rises are smaller than 10 km2 floating ice that can safely calve off without increasing ice (Matsuoka et al., 2015). Even though they are common fea- discharge to the ocean. This result stems from a static analy- tures in DML, they are often missing in the bathymetry be- sis of the force balance between ocean pressure and ice inter- cause airborne radar data are not spaced closely enough. This nal stress state, which can flaw further transient simulations issue was recently pointed out in two studies revealing a se- if pinning points are not accounted for (Fürst et al., 2015). ries of uncharted pinning points from ice-sheet modelling Berger et al.(2016) demonstrated through a diagnostic study (Fürst et al., 2015) and observations (Berger et al., 2016). that omitting the contact between a topographic high and the The back stress induced by pinning points – even small ice-shelf base during data assimilation yields excessive ice- ones, i.e. a few kilometres squared in area – buttresses ice shelf stiffening, which compensates for the lack of basal fric- shelves, hampering ice discharge towards the ocean. Be- tion in order to match observed surface velocities. However, cause simulating pinning points requires accurate treatment it remains unclear how such erroneous initialisation impacts of grounding-line dynamics, they have only recently been the transient behaviour of the ice-sheet/shelf system, which considered in ice-sheet models: Goldberg et al.(2009) and is a question we address here. Favier et al.(2012) investigated the transient effect of pin- Unpinning may occur over various timescales due to pro- ning points for idealised geometry, using ice-sheet models gressive ice-shelf thinning (Paolo et al., 2015; Pritchard of varying complexity. In both studies, including a pinning et al., 2012), erosion, rising sea level, tidal uplift (Schmeltz point beneath an ice shelf in steady state significantly slows et al., 2001), or through the developments of rifts (Hum- down the ice flow, inducing a grounding-line advance until bert and Steinhage, 2011). However, unpinning of Antarc- the grounded ice sheet fully covers the pinning point. The tic ice shelves has been poorly documented so far. Accord- development of an ice rise over a deglaciation and its further ing to Mouginot et al.(2014), the best explanation for the stability among an ice sheet/shelf system in steady state were acceleration of the eastern ice shelf of Thwaites Glacier in recently simulated by Favier and Pattyn(2015), even though the Amundsen Sea sector since 2008 might be reduced but- the stability of ice rises has been known for decades (Ray- tressing from the pinning point at its terminus (also hypoth- mond, 1983). Favier and Pattyn(2015) also demonstrated esised in Tinto and Bell, 2011), even though other mecha- that ice promontories are transient features transitioning into nisms such as sub-ice-shelf melting may also be at play. In ice rises during ice-sheet deglaciation. Larsen C ice shelf, the unpinning of the Bawden and Gipps Both studies of Favier et al.(2012) and Favier and Pat- ice rises was simulated diagnostically (i.e. without ice geom- tyn(2015) used ice-sheet models of sufficient complexity to etry changes) by manually decreasing the basal drag (Borstad accurately quantify the stress pattern in the pinning point’s et al., 2013), which substantially accelerated the ice flow by vicinity: ice is compressed along-flow upstream of the pin- up to 200 m a−1 over an extent of about 100 km upstream. ning point, sheared when flowing around it, and stretched However, the transient evolution of ice geometry and veloc- along-flow farther downstream. The levels of extensive stress ity after unpinning has not been investigated so far. We also computed were higher than what can be accommodated by address this question in this paper. ice creep, which in reality leads to brittle fracturing and The studied area is situated between the Lazarev and Roi rifting (Humbert and Steinhage, 2011). Pinning points thus Baudouin ice shelves in DML and contains a number of ice affect ice rheology by increasing local-scale deformability, streams flowing around the Sør Rondane mountain range to which further impacts surface velocities. the west and the Yamato mountain range to the east. The Initialisation of transient simulations relies on data as- coastal belt comprises a series of ice rumples, ice rises, similation methods (e.g. MacAyeal, 1993). These are ap- and promontories buttressing the ice shelves. From west to plied to observed ice geometry and surface velocity to in- east, the three outlet glaciers of Tussebreen (TB), Hansen- fer poorly known parameters such as basal friction and ice breen (HB), and West Ragnhild (WRG) are potentially un- stiffening/softening, the latter mostly accounting for crevasse stable because their beds lie below sea level and dip to- weakening and ice anisotropy.
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