Abstract
Ice shelves flex in response to surface ocean waves, which imposes
stresses and strains on the shelves that promote iceberg calving.
Previous modelling studies of ice shelf responses to ocean waves have
focussed on highly idealised geometries with uniform ice thickness and
flat seabeds. This study leverages on a recently developed mathematical
model that incorporates spatially varying geometries, combined with
measured ice shelf thickness and seabed profiles, to conduct a
statistical assessment of how fifteen Antarctic ice shelves respond to
ocean waves over a broad range of relevant wave periods, from swell to
infragravity waves to very long period waves. The results show the most
extreme responses at a given wave period are generated by features in
the ice shelves and/or seabed geometries, depending on the wave regime.
Relationships are determined between the median ice shelf response and
the median shelf front thickness or the median cavity depth. The
findings provide further evidence of the role of ocean waves in
large-scale calving events for certain ice shelves (particularly the
Wilkins), indicate a possible role of ocean waves in calving events for
other shelves (Larsen C and Conger), and the relationships determined
provide a method to assess how ice shelf responses are evolving with
climate change and project future scenarios.