Change in iceberg calving behavior preceded North Sea ice shelf disintegration during the last deglaciation
Understanding how regime shifts in iceberg calving behavior affect ice shelf stability remains a challenge for numerical models. This is an important question as we consider the fate of the ice shelves that currently buttress the Antarctic Ice Sheet and hold back the bulk of its potential upstream sea-level contribution. Using buried landforms, we demonstrate that ice shelves fringed the former British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) and document their disintegration ~18,000 years ago. The ice shelves produced massive (5-10 s km wide, 50-180 m thick) tabular icebergs until widespread ice shelf break-up shifted the calving regime to smaller bergs; a change that coincided with the collapse of marine-based ice across the central North Sea. We propose that the BIIS reached a climatic threshold around 18 ka which caused massive surface melting of its ice shelves, triggering hydrofracturing of crevasses that ultimately led to their disintegration and likely enhanced ice-retreat rates.
Authors
- Julian A. Dowdeswell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1369-9482)
- Calvin Shackleton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4534-4598)
- Robert D Larter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8414-7389)
- Mads Huuse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1766-4343)
- Jan Erik Arndt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9413-1612)
- Ed Self
- Claus‐Dieter Hillenbrand (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0240-7317)
- Dag Ottesen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3478-9308)
- James Scourse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2658-8730)
- James D. Kirkham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0506-1625)
- Ken Games
- Chris D. Clark (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1021-6679)
- Margaret Stewart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1766-1924)
- Jeremy C. Ely (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4007-1500)
- Kelly Hogan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1256-8010)
- Neil Arnold (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7538-3999)
Institutions
- Geological Survey of Norway (NO)
- British Antarctic Survey (GB)
- British Geological Survey (GB)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (GB)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Norwegian Polar Institute (NO)
- University of Sheffield (GB)
- BOKU University (AT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-04-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58304-5
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Cryospheric studies and observations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.60
Funders
- Equinor
- Aker BP
- China National Offshore Oil Corporation
- Total
- Natural Environment Research Council
- British Antarctic Survey