Authors: Brunt, Kelly M.; Sergienko, Olga; MacAyeal, Douglas R.

Source: Annals of Glaciology, Volume 44, Number 1, November 2006 , pp. 183-187(5)

Publisher: International Glaciological Society

Abstract:

Massive tabular icebergs (∼1000 km² surface area, ∼1011 kg mass) arrived in the southwest Ross Sea in early 2001 where they remained relatively immobile for the next 4 years. During the period of their presence, extensive landfast sea ice (fast ice) waxed and waned along the Victoria Land coast, with maximum coverage exceeding typical coverage prior to the arrival of the icebergs by a factor of 5. The purposes of this study are to determine (1) whether the extensive 'iceberg blockade' extending from Ross Island to Drygalski Ice Tongue was indeed, as intuition suggests, responsible for the unusual fast-ice conditions, and (2) how storm frequency, intensity and seasonal timing may have mitigated the effects of the icebergs. Our simple analysis of glaciological and atmospheric conditions observed during 2001-05 suggests that iceberg movement alone is not sufficient to explain fast-ice variability; and, in fact, it is the detailed interplay between storms and iceberg location that determine this variability.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3189/172756406781811754

Publication date: 2006-11-01

More about this publication?

• The Annals of Glaciology is a peer-reviewed, thematic journal published 2 to 4 times a year by the International Glaciological Society (IGS). Publication frequency is determined and volume/issue numbers assigned by the IGS Council on a year-to-year basis and with a lead time of 3 to 4 years. The Annals of Glaciology is included in the ISI Science Citation Index from volume 50, number 50 onwards.

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