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Antarctic surface hydrology and impacts on ice-sheet mass balance

Nature Climate Change volume 8, pages 1044–1052 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Melting is pervasive along the ice surrounding Antarctica. On the surface of the grounded ice sheet and floating ice shelves, extensive networks of lakes, streams and rivers both store and transport water. As melting increases with a warming climate, the surface hydrology of Antarctica in some regions could resemble Greenland’s present-day ablation and percolation zones. Drawing on observations of widespread surface water in Antarctica and decades of study in Greenland, we consider three modes by which meltwater could impact Antarctic mass balance: increased runoff, meltwater injection to the bed and meltwater-induced ice-shelf fracture — all of which may contribute to future ice-sheet mass loss from Antarctica.

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Fig. 1: Examples of major components of surface hydrological systems located on a present-day Antarctic surface melt map.
Fig. 2: Antarctic surface hydrology.
Fig. 3: Schematic illustration of three primary modes of surface melt impact on ice-sheet mass balance.
Fig. 4: Surface meltwater production in Greenland today and Antarctica at the end of the century.

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Acknowledgements

A.F.B. acknowledges support from a Leverhulme/Newton Trust Early Career Fellowship (grant no. ECF-2014-412). We thank X. Fettweis for producing and making Greenland MAR model output available and M. Tedesco for discussion on their usage. The authors thank O. Sergienko for useful discussions. The authors acknowledge the participants in the February 2018 NSF-funded workshop on Antarctic Surface Hydrology and Future Ice Shelf Stability (grant no. 1743326) for their lively, thoughtful discussion. L.D.T. acknowledges support from NSF Antarctic Glaciology Program award no. 1643733.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA

    Robin E. Bell & Jonathan Kingslake

  2. Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Alison F. Banwell

  3. Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Alison F. Banwell

  4. Department of Geology, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA

    Luke D. Trusel

  5. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA

    Jonathan Kingslake

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R.E.B. conceived the idea, and all authors contributed equally to the writing.

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Bell, R.E., Banwell, A.F., Trusel, L.D. et al. Antarctic surface hydrology and impacts on ice-sheet mass balance. Nature Clim Change 8, 1044–1052 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0326-3

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