The Cryosphere

Subglacial conditions during and after stoppage of an Antarctic Ice Stream: Is reactivation imminent?

  1. S. W. Vogel1,4,
  2. S. Tulaczyk1,
  3. B. Kamb2,
  4. H. Engelhardt2,
  5. F. D. Carsey3,
  6. A. E. Behar3,
  7. A. L. Lane3,
  8. I. Joughin3,5

Article first published online: 20 JUL 2005

DOI: 10.1029/2005GL022563

Issue

Geophysical Research Letters

Geophysical Research Letters

Additional Information

How to Cite

Vogel, S. W., S. Tulaczyk, B. Kamb, H. Engelhardt, F. D. Carsey, A. E. Behar, A. L. Lane, and I. Joughin (2005), Subglacial conditions during and after stoppage of an Antarctic Ice Stream: Is reactivation imminent? Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L14502, doi:10.1029/2005GL022563.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Earth Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA

  2. 2

    Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

  3. 3

    Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

  4. 4

    Now at the Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.

  5. 5

    Now at Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Lab, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 20 JUL 2005
  2. Article first published online: 20 JUL 2005
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 12 MAY 2005
  4. Manuscript Revised: 9 APR 2005
  5. Manuscript Received: 8 JAN 2005

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[1] Borehole observations from the base of the West-Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) reveal the presence of a 10 to 15 m thick accretionary basal ice layer in the upstream area of Kamb Ice Stream (KIS). This ice layer has formed over a time of several thousand years by freeze-on of subglacial water to the ice base and has recorded during this time basal conditions upstream of its current location. Analysis of samples and videos sequences from boreholes drilled to the bottom of KIS confirms that KIS-stoppage was due to basal freeze-on and that relubrication of the ice stream is well underway. These results further suggest that ice stream cyclicity may be shorter than expected (1000s of years) and that a restart of KIS may be imminent within decades to centuries.

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