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Calving giant icebergs: old principles, new applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2006

J.P. Kenneally  and
T. Hughes
J.P. Kenneally
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-57790, USA Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-57790, USA
T. Hughes
Affiliation:
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-57790, USA Department of Earth Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-57790, USA
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Abstract

Earth-orbiting satellites can now monitor calving of large icebergs from ice shelves bordering the marine West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and recent calving events have stimulated interest in calving mechanisms. To advance this interest pioneering work in brittle and ductile fracture mechanics is reviewed, leading to a new application to calving of giant icebergs from Antarctic ice shelves. The aim is to view iceberg calving as more than terminal events for Antarctic ice when glaciologists lose interest. Instead calving launches Antarctic ice into the larger dynamic system of Earth's climate machine. This encourages a holistic approach to glaciology.

Keywords

climateglaciologyWest Antarctic Ice Sheet
Type
PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , September 2006 , pp. 409 - 419
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2006

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