Ice shelf collapse could trigger widespread retreat of marine-based portions of the Antarctic ice sheet. However, little is known about the processes that control the stability of ice shelves. Recent observations have revealed that ice shelves have topographic features that span a spectrum of wavelengths, including basal channels and crevasses. Here we use ground-penetrating radar data to quantify patterns of roughness within and between ice shelves. We find that roughness follows a power law with the scaling exponent approximately constant between ice shelves. However, the level of roughness varies by nearly an order of magnitude between ice shelves. Critically, we find that roughness strongly correlates with basal melt, suggesting that increased melt not only leads to larger melt channels, but also to increased fracturing, rifting and decreased ice shelf stability. This hints that the mechanical stability of ice shelves may be more tightly controlled by ocean forcing than previously thought.

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冰架的粗糙度与基础融化率相关

冰架坍塌可能引发南极冰盖海洋部分的广泛退缩。然而，人们对控制冰架稳定性的过程知之甚少。最近的观察表明，冰架具有跨越一系列波长的地形特征，包括基底通道和裂缝。在这里，我们使用探地雷达数据来量化冰架内部和之间的粗糙度模式。我们发现粗糙度遵循幂律，冰架之间的缩放指数近似恒定。然而，冰架之间的粗糙度水平相差近一个数量级。至关重要的是，我们发现粗糙度与基础熔体密切相关，这表明增加的熔体不仅会导致更大的熔体通道，还会导致更多的破裂，裂和降低冰架稳定性。这暗示着冰架的机械稳定性可能比以前认为的更受海洋强迫的控制。