BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Ocean forcing of ice sheet change in West Antarctica - Dr Adrian J
 enkins\, British Antarctic Survey\, Cambridge
DTSTART:20110207T193000Z
DTEND:20110207T210000Z
UID:TALK26795@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Nigel Bennee
DESCRIPTION:“The part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet that drains into t
 he Amundsen Sea is currently thinning at such a rate that it contributes n
 early 10% of the observed rise in global mean sea level.  Acceleration of 
 the outlet glaciers means that the sea level contribution has grown over t
 he past decades\, while the likely future contribution remains a key unkno
 wn.  The synchronous response of several independent glaciers\, coupled wi
 th the observation that thinning is most rapid at their downstream ends\, 
 where the ice goes afloat\, is generally taken as an indicator that the ch
 anges are being forced by the ocean.  On Pine Island Glacier (PIG)\, in pa
 rticular\, the signatures of acceleration\, thinning and inland retreat of
  the grounding line\, where the ice goes afloat\, have been almost monoton
 ic in the admittedly short and patchy observational record.  Understanding
  the causes of these changes and their relationship to climate variability
  is imperative if we are to make quantitative estimates of sea level into 
 the future.  Observations made since the mid-1990s on the Amundsen Sea con
 tinental shelf have revealed that the deep troughs\, carved by previous gl
 acial advances\, are flooded by almost unmodified Circumpolar Deep Water (
 CDW) with temperatures around 3-4°C above the freezing point\, and that t
 his water mass drives rapid melting of the floating ice.  This talk summar
 ises the results of recent work\, including both observations made by an A
 utonomous Underwater Vehicle beneath the floating tongue of PIG and numeri
 cal modelling of ocean circulation in the Amundsen Sea.  The results give 
 us important insight into the processes that could cause variability of CD
 W inflows and how the impact of such variability on PIG would have been in
 fluenced by the seabed topography beneath the floating glacier tongue.”\
 n\nThis lecture is held jointly with the Cambridge Philosophical Society
LOCATION:The Møller Centre\, Storey's Way\, Cambridge
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR