De Gwyther

Antarctic Mapping Tools for Matlab

We present the Antarctic Mapping Tools package, an open-source Matlab toolbox for analysis and plotting of Antarctic geospatial datasets. This toolbox is designed to streamline scientific workflow and maximize repeatability through functions which allow fully scripted data analysis and mapping. Data access is facilitated by several dataset-specific plugins which are freely available online. An open architecture has been chosen to encourage users to develop and share plugins for future Antarctic geospatial datasets. This toolbox includes functions for coordinate transformations, flight line or ship track analysis, and data mapping in georeferenced or projected coordinates. Each function is thoroughly documented with clear descriptions of function syntax alongside examples of data analysis or display using Antarctic geospatial data. The Antarctic Mapping Tools package is designed for ease of use and allows users to perform each step of data processing including raw data import, data analysis, and creation of publication-quality maps, wholly within the numerical environment of Matlab. Graphical abstractDisplay Omitted HighlightsAMT is an open-source Matlab toolbox for Antarctic data analysis and display.AMT lets users create fully scriptable, publication-quality maps in Matlab.AMT incorporates publicly available datasets through user-generated plugins.

Modelling the response of ice shelf basal melting to different ocean cavity environmental regimes

ABSTRACT We present simulation results from a version of the Regional Ocean Modeling System modified for ice shelf/ocean interaction, including the parameterisation of basal melting by molecular diffusion alone. Simulations investigate the differences in melting for an idealised ice shelf experiencing a range of cold to hot ocean cavity conditions. Both the pattern of melt and the location of maximum melt shift due to changes in the buoyancy-driven circulation, in a different way to previous studies. Tidal forcing increases both the circulation strength and melting, with the strongest impact on the cold cavity case. Our results highlight the importance of including a complete melt parameterisation and tidal forcing. In response to the 2.4°C ocean warming initially applied to a cold cavity ice shelf, we find that melting will increase by about an order of magnitude (24 × with tides and 41 × without tides).

Wind causes Totten Ice Shelf melt and acceleration

Wind upwells warm water from the deep ocean off the East Antarctic coast, leading to ice-shelf melt and glacier acceleration. Totten Glacier in East Antarctica has the potential to raise global sea level by at least 3.5 m, but its sensitivity to climate change has not been well understood. The glacier is coupled to the ocean by the Totten Ice Shelf, which has exhibited variable speed, thickness, and grounding line position in recent years. To understand the drivers of this interannual variability, we compare ice velocity to oceanic wind stress and find a consistent pattern of ice-shelf acceleration 19 months after upwelling anomalies occur at the continental shelf break nearby. The sensitivity to climate forcing we observe is a response to wind-driven redistribution of oceanic heat and is independent of large-scale warming of the atmosphere or ocean. Our results establish a link between the stability of Totten Glacier and upwelling near the East Antarctic coast, where surface winds are projected to intensify over the next century as a result of increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.

Impact of ocean forcing on the Aurora Basin in the 21st and 22nd centuries

ABSTRACT The grounded ice in the Totten and Dalton glaciers is an essential component of the buttressing for the marine-based Aurora basin, and hence their stability is important to the future rate of mass loss from East Antarctica. Totten and Vanderford glaciers are joined by a deep east-west running subglacial trench between the continental ice sheet and Law Dome, while a shallower trench links the Totten and Dalton glaciers. All three glaciers flow into the ocean close to the Antarctic circle and experience ocean-driven ice shelf melt rates comparable with the Amundsen Sea Embayment. We investigate this combination of trenches and ice shelves with the BISICLES adaptive mesh ice-sheet model and ocean-forcing melt rates derived from two global climate models. We find that ice shelf ablation at a rate comparable with the present day is sufficient to cause widespread grounding line retreat in an east-west direction across Totten and Dalton glaciers, with projected future warming causing faster retreat. Meanwhile, southward retreat is limited by the shallower ocean facing slopes between the coast and the bulk of the Aurora sub-glacial trench. However the two climate models produce completely different future ice shelf basal melt rates in this region: HadCM3 drives increasing sub-ice shelf melting to ~2150, while ECHAM5 shows little or no increase in sub-ice shelf melting under the two greenhouse gas forcing scenarios.

Ocean forced variability of Totten Glacier mass loss

Abstract A large volume of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet drains through the Totten Glacier (TG) and is thought to be a potential source of substantial global sea-level rise over the coming centuries. We show that the surface velocity and height of the floating part of the TG, which buttresses the grounded component, have varied substantially over two decades (1989–2011), with variations in surface height strongly anti-correlated with simulated basal melt rates (r = 0.70, p < 0.05). Coupled glacier–ice shelf simulations confirm that ice flow and thickness respond to both basal melting of the ice shelf and grounding on bed obstacles. We conclude the observed variability of the TG is primarily ocean-driven. Ocean warming in this region will lead to enhanced ice-sheet dynamism and loss of upstream grounded ice.

Intrinsic processes drive variability in basal melting of the Totten Glacier Ice Shelf

Over the period 2003–2008, the Totten Ice Shelf (TIS) was shown to be rapidly thinning, likely due to basal melting. However, a recent study using a longer time series found high interannual variability present in TIS surface elevation without any apparent trend. Here we show that low-frequency intrinsic ocean variability potentially accounts for a large fraction of the variability in the basal melting of TIS. Specifically, numerical ocean model simulations show that up to 44% of the modelled variability in basal melting in the 1–5 year timescale (and up to 21% in the 5–10 year timescale) is intrinsic, with a similar response to the full climate forcing. We identify the important role of intrinsic ocean variability in setting the observed interannual variation in TIS surface thickness and velocity. Our results further demonstrate the need to account for intrinsic ocean processes in the detection and attribution of change.Low frequency intrinsic ocean variability has an unknown impact on Antarctic ice shelves, yet can arise even in the absence of varying climate forcing. Here, the authors show that this variability significantly affects modelled basal melting under the Totten Ice Shelf, with implications for the attribution of change.