JPLs ISSM Ice Sheet and Sea Level System Model shows how the loss of ice mélange makes it easier for rifts in the ice to widen ice mélange and rifts shown in pink Ice mélange remnants ID: 1022748
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1. Ice shelfIcebergJPL researchers believe the answer lies in ice mélange – a mixture of snow and ice stuck inside the ice shelf that holds it together, and is thin and easy to melt.JPL’s ISSM (Ice Sheet and Sea Level System Model) shows how the loss of ice mélange makes it easier for rifts in the ice to widen (ice mélange and rifts shown in pink)Ice mélange remnants “Glue” holding Antarctic ice shelves together is key to ice lossE. Larour, E. Rignot, M. Poinelli, B. ScheuchlPNAS, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2105080118Physical processes controlling the rifting of Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica, prior to the calving of iceberg A68In 2017, a giant iceberg broke off of Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf. Why did it happen? Because thin ice mélange is susceptible to melting, especially by the ocean from underneath, ice shelves start breaking apart even if air temperatures remain cold. These ice shelves hold back the flow of glaciers that, upon reaching the ocean, would break free, melt, and cause significant sea level rise.KEY TAKEAWAY: