美国伍兹霍尔海洋研究所Walker, Catherine C.课题组，研究了南极洲东部康格-格伦泽冰架几十年来的崩塌过程。相关论文于2024年12月3日发表于国际顶尖学术期刊《自然—地球科学》杂志上。
据悉，目前南极洲的净质量主要从南极洲西部和南极半岛流失到海洋中，这两个地区共拥有约为5.5m的海平面上升潜力。然而，南极洲东部冰盖储存的冰几乎是前者的10倍，由于人们对其过程尺度的观测不足，其演变给海平面上升的预测带来了很大的不确定性。
研究人员报道了南极洲东部的康格-格伦泽冰架的崩塌细节，该冰架最终于2022年3月解体。研究人员结合观察结果，记录了该冰架跨越25年的四个阶段的演变，从1997-2000年开始，小规模的冰解事件使其与沙克尔顿冰架隔离开来。2011年，它从一个中心固定点撤退，随后的十年相对平静几乎不发生裂解，其余约1,200km2的冰架在2022年3月中旬的几崩解。
该团队对康格-格伦泽冰架崩塌的观测揭示了其所涉及的过程，特别是海洋和大气变暖以及极端天气事件的影响。研究结果强调，目前卫星记录中罕见的冰架崩塌对南极冰盖的稳定性，及其对未来海平面上升的影响具有重大意义。
附：英文原文
Title: Multi-decadal collapse of East Antarctica’s Conger–Glenzer Ice Shelf
Author: Walker, Catherine C., Millstein, Joanna D., Miles, Bertie W. J., Cook, Sue, Fraser, Alexander D., Colliander, Andreas, Misra, Sidharth, Trusel, Luke D., Adusumilli, Susheel, Roberts, Chancelor, Fricker, Helen A.
Issue&Volume: 2024-12-03
Abstract: Antarctica is currently losing net mass to the ocean primarily from West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, which together hold ~5.5m of sea level rise potential. Yet, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet stores almost ten times more ice, and its evolution contributes significant uncertainty to sea level rise projections, mainly due to insufficient process-scale observations. Here we report the collapse of the Conger–Glenzer Ice Shelf in East Antarctica that culminated with its March 2022 disintegration. We use a combination of observations to document its evolution over four stages spanning 25years, starting 1997–2000 when small calving events isolated it from the Shackleton Ice Shelf. In 2011, it retreated from a central pinning point, followed by relative calving quiescence for a decade; the remaining ~1,200km2 of the ice shelf disintegrated over a few days in mid-March 2022. These observations of the Conger–Glenzer Ice Shelf collapse shed light on the processes involved, in particular, the impacts of ocean and atmospheric warming and extreme weather events. Ice shelf collapses, rare in the satellite record so far, have substantial implications for the stability of the Antarctic ice sheet and its contribution to future sea level rise.
DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01582-3
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01582-3