The "footloose" mechanism : iceberg decay from hydrostatic stresses
Abstract
We study a mechanism of iceberg breakup that may act together with the recognized melt and wave-induced decay processes. Our proposal is based on observations from a recent field experiment on a large ice island in Baffin Bay, East Canada. We observed that successive collapses of the overburden from above an unsupported wavecut at the iceberg waterline created a submerged foot fringing the berg. The buoyancy stresses induced by such a foot may be sufficient to cause moderate-sized bergs to break off from the main berg. A mathematical model is developed to test the feasibility of this mechanism. The results suggest that once the foot reaches a critical length, the induced stresses are sufficient to cause calving. The theoretically predicted maximum stable foot length compares well to the data collected in situ. Further, the model provides analytical expressions for the previously observed "rampart-moat" iceberg surface profiles.
Citation
Wagner , T J W , Wadhams , P , Bates , C R , Elosegui , P , Stern , A , Vella , D , Abrahamsen , E P , Crawford , A & Nicholls , K W 2014 , ' The "footloose" mechanism : iceberg decay from hydrostatic stresses ' , Geophysical Research Letters , vol. 41 , no. 15 , pp. 5522-5529 . https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL060832
Publication
Geophysical Research Letters
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0094-8276Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the final published version of the work, which was originally published at: https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL060832
Description
Authors are grateful to the Office of Naval Research High Latitude Program for supporting the University of Cambridge participation through the MIZ‐DRI project, grant N00014‐12‐1‐0130. T.J.W.W. further acknowledges ONR grant N00014‐13‐1‐0469.Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.