"Rapid change now underway on Thwaites Glacier (TG) raises concern that a threshold for unstoppable grounding line retreat has been or is about to be crossed"
I hadn't heard it put quite that way in writing in the scientific literature yet, but I obviously have not been paying close enough attention.
This sounds kind of...bad...
I would have thought that the "Ice Apocalypse" thread would have given some idea of how much at risk that the TG is of crossing a threshold:
https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,2205.0.htmlHowever, if that thread is not sufficient I re-post the following from the Potential Collapse Scenario for the WAIS" thread
"Based on my interpretation of the two linked references, I suspect that local ice cliff failures near the base of the Thwaites Ice Tongue (see the four images) will begin sometime 2025 and 2033, and will be initiated due to influences from Super El Nino events in that timeframe:
Yu, H., Rignot, E., Morlighem, M., & Seroussi, H. (2017). Iceberg calving of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica: full-Stokes modeling combined with linear elastic fracture mechanics. The Cryosphere, 11(3), 1283, doi:10.5194/tc-11-1283-2017
https://www.the-cryosphere.net/11/1283/2017/tc-11-1283-2017.pdfhttps://www.the-cryosphere.net/11/1283/2017/tc-11-1283-2017-assets.htmlAbstract. "Thwaites Glacier (TG), West Antarctica, has been losing mass and retreating rapidly in the past few decades. Here, we present a study of its calving dynamics combining a two-dimensional flow-band full-Stokes (FS) model of its viscous flow with linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) theory to model crevasse propagation and ice fracturing. We compare the results with those obtained with the higher-order (HO) and the shallow-shelf approximation (SSA) models coupled with LEFM. We find that FS/LEFM produces surface and bottom crevasses that are consistent with the distribution of depth and width of surface and bottom crevasses observed by NASA’s Operation IceBridge radar depth sounder and laser altimeter, whereas HO/LEFM and SSA/LEFM do not generate crevasses that are consistent with observations. We attribute the difference to the nonhydrostatic condition of ice near the grounding line, which facilitates crevasse formation and is accounted for by the FS model but not by the HO or SSA models. We find that calving is enhanced when pre-existing surface crevasses are present, when the ice shelf is shortened or when the ice shelf front is undercut. The role of undercutting depends on the timescale of calving events. It is more prominent for glaciers with rapid calving rates than for glaciers with slow calving rates. Glaciers extending into a shorter ice shelf are more vulnerable to calving than glaciers developing a long ice shelf, especially as the ice front retreats close to the grounding line region, which leads to a positive feedback to calving events. We conclude that the FS/LEFM combination yields substantial improvements in capturing the stress field near the grounding line of a glacier for constraining crevasse formation and iceberg calving."
Extract: "In our simulations, we find that crevasses propagate significantly faster near the ice front when the ice shelf is shortened.
…
The reason for the propagation of crevasses is the existence of a nonhydrostatic condition of ice immediately downstream of the grounding line, which is not accounted for in simplified models that assume hydrostatic equilibrium everywhere on the ice shelf. We also find that calving is enhanced in the presence of pre-existing surface crevasses or shorter ice shelves or when the ice front is undercut. We conclude that it is important to consider the full stress regime of ice in the grounding line region to replicate the conditions conducive to calving events, especially the nonhydrostatic condition that is critical to propagate the crevasses."
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The second linked reference confirms that the ENSO is directly associated with surface air temperatures across the interior of West Antarctica, and I note that the frequency of extreme El Nino events is projected to double when the global mean surface temp. anom. gets to 1.5C:
Kyle R. Clem, James A. Renwick, and James McGregor (2017), "Large-Scale Forcing of the Amundsen Sea Low and its Influence on Sea Ice and West Antarctic Temperature", Journal of Climate,
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0891.1http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0891.1?utm_content=buffer2e94d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=bufferAbstract: "Using empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis and atmospheric reanalyses, we examine the principal patterns of seasonal West Antarctic surface air temperature (SAT) and their connection to sea ice and the Amundsen Sea Low (ASL). During austral summer, the leading EOF (EOF1) explains 35% of West Antarctic SAT variability and consists of a widespread SAT anomaly over the continent linked to persistent sea ice concentration anomalies over the Ross and Amundsen Seas from the previous spring. Outside of summer, EOF1 (explaining ~40-50% of the variability) consists of an east-west dipole over the continent with SAT anomalies over the Antarctic Peninsula opposite those over western West Antarctica. The dipole is tied to variability in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and in-phase El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) / SAM combinations that influence the depth of the ASL over the central Amundsen Sea (near 105°W). The second EOF (EOF2) during autumn, winter, and spring (explaining ~15-20% of the variability) consists of a dipole shifted approximately 30 degrees west of EOF1 with a widespread SAT anomaly over the continent. During winter and spring, EOF2 is closely tied to variability in ENSO and a tropically-forced wavetrain that influences the ASL in the western Amundsen / eastern Ross Seas (near 135°W) with an opposite sign circulation anomaly over the Weddell Sea; the ENSO-related circulation brings anomalous thermal advection deep onto the continent. We conclude the ENSO-only circulation pattern is associated with SAT variability across interior West Antarctica, especially during winter and spring, while the SAM circulation pattern is associated with an SAT dipole over the continent.""