Antarctic Glaciers Accelerate in Wake of Ice Shelf Breakup:
Glacier Acceleration Observations from Landsat 7
Hektoria: The initial speedup between 2000 and 2002 is probably due to the very warm summer during which the Larsen B disintegrated. Immediately after breakup, glacier speed rapidly increased. Because the downstream part of the glacier accelerated more than the upper glacier, the ice was "stretched." New crevasses formed throughout the lower glacier as a result, and the stretching caused the glaciers to drastically thin.
Green: As with the Hektoria Glaicer, the initial speedup between 2000 and 2002 is probably due to the very warm summer during which the Larsen B disintegrated. Immediately after breakup, glacier speed rapidly increased. Because the downstream part of the glacier accelerated more than the upper glacier, the ice was "stretched." New crevasses formed throughout the lower glacier as a result, and the stretching caused the glaciers to drastically thin.
Crane and Jorum: Retreat of the ice shelf near these glaciers was prolonged; after the main collapse occurred, some shelf ice remained. Even a small amount of remaining shelf ice appears to reduce the amount of stretching and acceleration — particularly for Jorum Glacier, which slowed during the first winter period after the breakup.
Flask and Leppard: Because the shelf collapse did not extend to these glaciers, a substantial area of shelf ice remained in front of these areas for the entire period, so only the seasonal changes in flow speed appear. This indicates that ice shelf loss, not some other process, led to speedup and potential increases to Earth's sea level.
(Images derived from Scambos et al.: Larsen B Glacier Acceleration, 2004)
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