Drift-dependent changes in iceberg size-frequency distributions

作者：Kirkham James D^*; Rosser Nick J; Wainwright John; Jones Emma C Vann; Dunning Stuart A; Lane Victoria S; Hawthorn David E; Strzelecki Mateusz C; Szczucinski Witold

来源：Scientific Reports, 2017, 7(1): 15991.

DOI：10.1038/s41598-017-14863-2

Although the size-frequency distributions of icebergs can provide insight into how they disintegrate, our understanding of this process is incomplete. Fundamentally, there is a discrepancy between iceberg power-law size-frequency distributions observed at glacial calving fronts and lognormal size-frequency distributions observed globally within open waters that remains unexplained. Here we use passive seismic monitoring to examine mechanisms of iceberg disintegration as a function of drift. Our results indicate that the shift in the size-frequency distribution of iceberg sizes observed is a product of fracture-driven iceberg disintegration and dimensional reductions through melting. We suggest that changes in the characteristic size-frequency scaling of icebergs can be explained by the emergence of a dominant set of driving processes of iceberg degradation towards the open ocean. Consequently, the size-frequency distribution required to model iceberg distributions accurately must vary according to distance from the calving front.

• 出版日期2017-11-22
• 单位中国极地研究中心