Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Rapid, buoyancy-driven ice-sheet retreat of hundreds of metres per day

Nature volume 617, pages 105–110 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Rates of ice-sheet grounding-line retreat can be quantified from the spacing of corrugation ridges on deglaciated regions of the seafloor1,2, providing a long-term context for the approximately 50-year satellite record of ice-sheet change3,4,5. However, the few existing examples of these landforms are restricted to small areas of the seafloor, limiting our understanding of future rates of grounding-line retreat and, hence, sea-level rise. Here we use bathymetric data to map more than 7,600 corrugation ridges across 30,000 km2 of the mid-Norwegian shelf. The spacing of the ridges shows that pulses of rapid grounding-line retreat, at rates ranging from 55 to 610 m day−1, occurred across low-gradient (±1°) ice-sheet beds during the last deglaciation. These values far exceed all previously reported rates of grounding-line retreat across the satellite3,4,6,7 and marine-geological1,2 records. The highest retreat rates were measured across the flattest areas of the former bed, suggesting that near-instantaneous ice-sheet ungrounding and retreat can occur where the grounding line approaches full buoyancy. Hydrostatic principles show that pulses of similarly rapid grounding-line retreat could occur across low-gradient Antarctic ice-sheet beds even under present-day climatic forcing. Ultimately, our results highlight the often-overlooked vulnerability of flat-bedded areas of ice sheets to pulses of extremely rapid, buoyancy-driven retreat.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Corrugation ridges on the mid-Norwegian margin.
Fig. 2: Corrugation ridge dimensions and spacing.
Fig. 3: Schematic model of corrugation ridge formation along the ice-sheet grounding line.
Fig. 4: Time-variable grounding-zone anatomy and links to corrugation ridge formation.
Fig. 5: Hydrostatic relationship between grounding-line retreat and equivalent ice-shelf thinning.

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The corrugation ridge data generated in this study  have been deposited in the Cambridge Apollo database under accession code https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.93638 (ref. 101). Bathymetric data from the Norwegian margin can be accessed through the Kartverket (The Norwegian Mapping Authority) online database (www.kartverket.no).

Code availability

The code used to produce Fig. 5 was developed in MATLAB and is freely available at the GitHub page of F.D.W.C. at https://github.com/frazer-christie/Batchelor_etal_2023_Nature.

References

  1. Dowdeswell, J. A. et al. Delicate seafloor landforms reveal past Antarctic grounding-line retreat of kilometers per year. Science 368, 1020–1024 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Graham, A. G. C. et al. Rapid retreat of Thwaites Glacier in the pre-satellite era. Nat. Geosci. 15, 706–713 (2022).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Rignot, E., Mouginot, J., Morlighem, M., Seroussi, H. & Scheuchl, B. Widespread, rapid grounding line retreat of Pine Island, Thwaites, Smith, and Kohler glaciers, West Antarctica, from 1992 to 2011. Geophys. Res. Lett. 41, 3502–3509 (2014).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Christie, F. D. W., Bingham, R. G., Gourmelen, N., Tett, S. F. B. & Muto, A. Four-decade record of pervasive grounding line retreat along the Bellingshausen margin of West Antarctica. Geophys. Res. Lett. 43, 5741–5749 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Mouginot, J. et al. Forty-six years of Greenland Ice Sheet mass balance from 1972 to 2018. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 9239–9244 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Konrad, H. et al. Net retreat of Antarctic glacier grounding lines. Nat. Geosci. 11, 258–262 (2018).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Milillo, P. et al. Rapid glacier retreat rates observed in West Antarctica. Nat. Geosci. 15, 48–53 (2022).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. The IMBIE Team. Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2017. Nature 558, 219–222 (2018).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. The IMBIE Team. Mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2018. Nature 579, 233–239 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Bindschadler, R. et al. Getting around Antarctica: new high-resolution mappings of the grounded and freely-floating boundaries of the Antarctic ice sheet created for the International Polar Year. Cryosphere 5, 569–588 (2011).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Friedl, P., Weiser, F., Fluhrer, A. & Braun, M. H. Remote sensing of glacier and ice sheet grounding lines: a review. Earth Sci. Rev. 201, 102948 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Milillo, P. et al. On the short-term grounding zone dynamics of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, observed with COSMO-SkyMed interferometric data. Geophys. Res. Lett. 44, 10,436–10,444 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Shipp, S. S., Anderson, J. & Domack, E. Late Pleistocene–Holocene retreat of the West Antarctic Ice-Sheet system in the Ross Sea: part 1–geophysical results. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 111, 1486–1516 (1999).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Dowdeswell, J. A., Ottesen, D., Evans, J., Ó Cofaigh, C. & Anderson, J. B. Submarine glacial landforms and rates of ice-stream collapse. Geology 36, 819–822 (2008).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Cofaigh, C. Ó. et al. Timing and pace of ice-sheet withdrawal across the marine–terrestrial transition west of Ireland during the last glaciation. J. Quat. Sci. 36, 805–832 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Ottesen, D., Dowdeswell, J. A. & Rise, L. Submarine landforms and the reconstruction of fast-flowing ice streams within a large Quaternary ice sheet: the 2500-km-long Norwegian-Svalbard margin (57°–80°N). Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 117, 1033–1050 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Knies, J. et al. Re-advance of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet during Heinrich Event 1. Mar. Geol. 240, 1–18 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Laberg, J. S., Eilertsen, R. S. & Vorren, T. O. The paleo–ice stream in Vestfjorden, north Norway, over the last 35 k.y.: glacial erosion and sediment yield. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 121, 434–447 (2009).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Hughes, A. L. C., Gyllencreutz, R., Lohne, Ø. S., Mangerud, J. & Svendsen, J. I. The last Eurasian ice sheets – a chronological database and time-slice reconstruction, DATED-1. Boreas 45, 1–45 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Sejrup, H. P. et al. The role of ocean and atmospheric dynamics in the marine-based collapse of the last Eurasian Ice Sheet. Commun. Earth Environ. 3, 119 (2022).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Greenwood, S. L., Simkins, L. M., Winsborrow, M. C. M. & Bjarnadóttir, L. R. Exceptions to bed-controlled ice sheet flow and retreat from glaciated continental margins worldwide. Sci. Adv. 7, eabb6291 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. Ottesen, D., Batchelor, C. L., Bjarnadóttir, L. R., Wiberg, D. H. & Dowdeswell, J. A. Glacial landforms reveal dynamic ice-sheet behaviour along the mid-Norwegian margin during the last glacial-deglacial cycle. Quat. Sci. Rev. 285, 107462 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Clark, C. D., Tulaczyk, S. M., Stokes, C. R. & Canals, M. A groove-ploughing theory for the production of mega-scale glacial lineations, and implications for ice-stream mechanics. J. Glaciol. 149, 240–256 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Graham, A. G. C. et al. Seabed corrugations beneath an Antarctic ice shelf revealed by autonomous underwater vehicle survey: origin and implications for the history of Pine Island Glacier. J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf. 118, 1356–1366 (2013).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Jamieson, S. S. R. et al. Ice-stream stability on a reverse bed slope. Nat. Geosci. 5, 799–802 (2012).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. Brunt, K. M., Fricker, H. A. & Padman, L. Analysis of ice plains of the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, using ICESat laser altimetry. J. Glaciol. 57, 965–975 (2011).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Park, J. W. et al. Sustained retreat of the Pine Island Glacier. Geophys. Res. Lett. 40, 2137–2142 (2013).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. Joughin, I., Smith, B. E. & Medley, B. Marine ice sheet collapse potentially under way for the Thwaites Glacier Basin, West Antarctica. Science 344, 735–738 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. Weertman, J. Stability of the junction of an ice sheet and an ice shelf. J. Glaciol. 13, 3–11 (1974).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. Schoof, C. Marine ice sheet stability. J. Fluid Mech. 698, 62–72 (2012).

    Article  MathSciNet  CAS  MATH  ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. O’Brien, P., Santis, L., Harris, P., Domack, E. & Quilty, P. Ice shelf grounding zone features of western Prydz Bay, Antarctica: sedimentary processes from seismic and sidescan images. Antarct. Sci. 11, 78–91 (1999).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. Shipp, S. S., Wellner, J. S. & Anderson, J. B. Retreat signature of a polar ice stream: sub-glacial geomorphic features and sediments from the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ. 203, 277–304 (2002).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  33. Jakobsson, M. et al. Geological record of ice shelf break-up and grounding line retreat, Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica. Geology 39, 691–964 (2011).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  34. Bindschadler, R. A., Stephenson, S. N., MacAyeal, D. R. & Shabtaie, S. Ice dynamics at the mouth of Ice Stream B, Antarctica. J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 92, 8885–8894 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Milillo, P. et al. Heterogeneous retreat and ice melt of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica. Sci. Adv. 5, eaau3433 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. Shean, D. E., Joughin, I. R., Dutrieux, P., Smith, B. E. & Berthier, E. Ice shelf basal melt rates from a high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) record for Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica. Cryosphere 13, 2633–2656 (2019).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  37. Liu, Z. et al. Transient simulation of last deglaciation with a new mechanism for Bølling-Allerød warming. Science 325, 310–314 (2009).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. Petrini, M. et al. Simulated last deglaciation of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet primarily driven by oceanic conditions. Quat. Sci. Rev. 238, 106314 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Sutherland, D. A. et al. Direct observations of submarine melt and subsurface geometry at a tidewater glacier. Science 365, 369–374 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  ADS  Google Scholar 

  40. Schulz, K., Nguyen, A. T. & Pillar, H. R. An improved and observationally-constrained melt rate parameterization for vertical ice fronts of marine terminating glaciers. Geophys. Res. Lett. 49, e2022GL100654 (2022).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  41. Sutherland, D. A. & Straneo, F. Estimating ocean heat transports and submarine melt rates in Sermilik Fjord, Greenland, using lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP) velocity profiles. Ann. Glaciol. 53, 50–58 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  42. Xu, Y., Rignot, E., Fenty, I., Menemenlis, D. & Flexas, M. M. Subaqueous melting of Store Glacier, west Greenland from three-dimensional, high-resolution numerical modeling and ocean observations. Geophys. Res. Lett. 40, 4648–4653 (2013).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  43. Slater, D. A. & Straneo, F. Submarine melting of glaciers in Greenland amplified by atmospheric warming. Nat. Geosci. 15, 797–799 (2022).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  44. Jordan, T. A. et al. New gravity-derived bathymetry for the Thwaites, Crosson, and Dotson ice shelves revealing two ice shelf populations. Cryosphere 14, 2869–2882 (2020).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  45. oceanDTM. Olex mapping system. www.oceandtm.com/olex.html (last accessed 2022).

  46. European Environment Agency. https://www.eea.europa.eu/ (last accessed 2022).

  47. Kopirett Mareano. The sea in maps and pictures. www.mareano.no (2019).

  48. Bøe, R. et al. Revealing the secrets of Norway’s seafloor – geological mapping within the MAREANO programme and in coastal areas. Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ. 505, 57–69 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Batchelor, C. L. et al. New insights into the formation of submarine glacial landforms from high-resolution Autonomous Underwater Vehicle data. Geomorphology 370, 107396 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Barnes, P. W. & Lien, R. Icebergs rework shelf sediments to 500 m off Antarctica. Geology 16, 1130–1133 (1988).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  51. Lien, R., Solheim, A., Elverhøi, A. & Rokoengen, K. Iceberg scouring and sea bed morphology on the eastern Weddell Sea shelf, Antarctica. Polar Res. 7, 43–57 (1989).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Andreassen, K., Winsborrow, M. C. M., Bjarnadóttir, L. R. & Rüther, D. C. Ice stream retreat dynamics inferred from an assemblage of landforms in the northern Barents Sea. Quat. Sci. Rev. 92, 246–257 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Klages, J. P. et al. Palaeo-ice stream pathways and retreat style in the easternmost Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, revealed by combined multibeam bathymetric and seismic data. Geomorphology 245, 207–222 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Dowdeswell, J. A. & Hogan, K. A. Huge iceberg ploughmarks and associated corrugation ridges on the northern Svalbard shelf. Geol. Soc. Lond. Mem. 46, 269–270 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Halberstadt, A. R. W., Simkins, L. M., Greenwood, S. L. & Anderson, J. B. Past ice-sheet behaviour: retreat scenarios and changing controls in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Cryosphere 10, 1003–1020 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  56. Ottesen, D. & Dowdeswell, J. A. Distinctive iceberg ploughmarks on the mid-Norwegian margin: tidally influenced chains of pits with implications for iceberg drift. Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res. 54, 163–175 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Warburton, K. L. P., Hewitt, D. R. & Neufeld, J. A. Tidal grounding-line migration modulated by subglacial hydrology. Geophys. Res. Lett. 47, e2020GL089088 (2020).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  58. Kartverket. Se havnivå. www.kartverket.no/en/at-sea/se-havniva (2022).

  59. Padman, L., Fricker, H. A., Coleman, R., Howard, S. & Erofeeva, L. A new tide model for the Antarctic ice shelves and seas. Ann. Glaciol. 34, 247–254 (2002).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  60. Padman, L., Siegfried, M. R. & Fricker, H. A. Ocean tide influences on the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. Rev. Geophys. 56, 142–184 (2018).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  61. Dowdeswell, J. A. & Fugelli, E. M. G. The seismic architecture and geometry of grounding-zone wedges formed at the marine margins of past ice sheets. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 124, 1750–1761 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  62. Batchelor, C. L. & Dowdeswell, J. A. Ice-sheet grounding-zone wedges (GZWs) on high-latitude continental margins. Mar. Geol. 363, 65–92 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  63. Lawrence, J. D. et al. Crevasse refreezing and signatures of retreat observed at Kamb Ice Stream grounding zone. Nat. Geosci. 16, 238–243 (2023).

  64. Smith, J. A. et al. The marine geological imprint of Antarctic ice shelves. Nat. Commun. 10, 5635 (2019).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  ADS  Google Scholar 

  65. Watkins, R. H., Basis, J. N. & Thouless, M. D. Roughness of ice shelves is correlated with basal melt rates. Geophys. Res. Lett. 48, e2021GL094743 (2021).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  66. Vaughan, D. G. et al. Subglacial melt channels and fracture in the floating part of Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica. J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf. 117, F03012 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  67. Jeofry, H. et al. Hard rock landforms generate 130 km ice shelf channels through water focusing in basal corrugations. Nat. Commun. 9, 4576 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  ADS  Google Scholar 

  68. Scambos, T. A. et al. Detailed ice loss pattern in the northern Antarctic Peninsula: widespread decline driven by ice front retreats. Cryosphere 8, 2135–2145 (2014).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  69. Wuite, J. et al. Evolution of surface velocities and ice discharge of Larsen B outlet glaciers from 1995 to 2013. Cryosphere 9, 957–969 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  70. Thomas, R. H. & Bentley, C. R. A model for Holocene retreat of the West Antarctic ice sheet. Quat. Res. 10, 150–170 (1978).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. Zarkogiannis, S. D. Disruption of the Atlantic meridional circulation during deglacial climates inferred from planktonic foraminiferal shell weights. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 9, 519 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  72. Howat, I. M., Porter, C., Smith, B. R., Noh, M.-J. & Morin, P. The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica. Cryosphere 13, 665–674 (2019).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  73. Rignot, E. J. Fast recession of a West Antarctic glacier. Science 281, 549–551 (1998).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  ADS  Google Scholar 

  74. Pritchard, H. D. et al. Antarctic ice-sheet loss driven by basal melting of ice shelves. Nature 484, 502–505 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  ADS  Google Scholar 

  75. Lenaerts, J. T. M., van den Broeke, M. R., van de Berg, W. J., van Meijgaard, E. & Kuipers Munneke, P. A new, high-resolution surface mass balance map of Antarctica (1979–2010) based on regional atmospheric climate modeling. Geophys. Res. Lett. 39, L04501 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  76. Rignot, E. Ice-shelf changes in Pine Island Bay, Antarctica, 1947–2000. J. Glaciol. 48, 247–256 (2002).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  77. Jourdain, N. C. et al. Simulating or prescribing the influence of tides on the Amundsen Sea ice shelves. Ocean Model. 133, 44–55 (2019).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  78. Altuna, N. E., Ezat, M. M., Greaves, M. & Rasmussen, T. L. Millennial-scale changes in bottom water temperature and water mass exchange through the Fram Strait 79°N, 63-13 ka. Paleoceanogr. Paleoclimatol. 36, e2020PA004061 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  79. Rahmstorf, S. et al. Thermohaline circulation hysteresis: a model intercomparison. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32, L23605 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  80. Liu, W., Liu, Z., Cheng, J. & Hu, H. On the stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during the last deglaciation. Clim. Dyn. 44, 1257–1275 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  81. Álvarez-Solas, J., Banderas, R., Robinson, A. & Montoya, M. Ocean-driven millennial-scale variability of the Eurasian ice sheet during the last glacial period simulated with a hybrid ice-sheet-shelf model. Clim. Past 15, 957–979 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  82. Álvarez-Solas, J. et al. Heinrich event 1: an example of dynamical ice-sheet reaction to oceanic changes. Clim. Past 7, 1297–1306 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  83. Marcott, S. A. et al. Ice-shelf collapse from subsurface warming as a trigger for Heinrich events. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 13415–13419 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  ADS  Google Scholar 

  84. Adusumilli, S., Fricker, H. A., Medley, B., Padman, L. & Siegfried, M. R. Interannual variations in meltwater input to the Southern Ocean from Antarctic ice shelves. Nat. Geosci. 13, 616–620 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  ADS  Google Scholar 

  85. Horgan, H. J. et al. Estuaries beneath ice sheets. Geology 41, 1159–1162 (2013).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  86. Walker, R. T. et al. Ice-shelf tidal flexure and subglacial pressure variations. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 361, 422–428 (2013).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  87. Wei, W. et al. Getz Ice Shelf melt enhanced by freshwater discharge from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Cryosphere 14, 1399–1408 (2020).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  88. Gourmelen, N. et al. Channelized melting drives thinning under a rapidly melting Antarctic Ice Shelf. Geophys. Res. Lett. 44, 9796–9804 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  89. Bell, R. E., Banwell, A. F., Trusel, L. D. & Kingslake, J. Antarctic surface hydrology and impacts on ice-sheet mass balance. Nat. Clim. Change 8, 1044–1052 (2018).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  90. Dowdeswell, J. A., Elverhøi, A. & Spielhagen, R. Glacimarine sedimentary processes and facies on the polar North Atlantic margins. Quat. Sci. Rev. 17, 243–272 (1998).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  91. Dowdeswell, J. A. et al. The variety and distribution of submarine glacial landforms and implications for ice-sheet reconstruction. Geol. Soc. Lond. Mem. 46, 519–552 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  92. Siegert, M. J. & Dowdeswell, J. A. Late Weichselian iceberg, surface-melt and sediment production from the Eurasian Ice Sheet: results from numerical ice-sheet modelling. Mar. Geol. 188, 109–127 (2002).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  93. Patton, H. et al. Deglaciation of the Eurasian ice sheet complex. Quat. Sci. Rev. 169, 148–172 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  94. Bjarnadóttir, L. R., Winsborrow, M. C. M. & Andreassen, K. Large subglacial meltwater features in the central Barents Sea. Geology 45, 159–162 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  95. Esteves, M., Bjarnadóttir, L. R., Winsborrow, M. C. M., Shackleton, C. S. & Andreassen, K. Retreat patterns and dynamics of the Sentralbankrenna glacial system, central Barents Sea. Quat. Sci. Rev. 169, 131–147 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  96. Montelli, A. et al. Deep and extensive meltwater system beneath the former Eurasian Ice Sheet in the Kara Sea. Geology 48, 179–183 (2020).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  97. Laskar, J. et al. A long-term numerical solution for the insolation quantities of the Earth. Astron. Astrophys. 428, 261–285 (2004).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  98. Lambeck, K., Rouby, H., Purcell, A., Sun, Y. & Sambridge, M. Sea level and global ice volumes from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111, 15296–15303 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  ADS  Google Scholar 

  99. Meredith, M. et al. in The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. A Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds Pörtner, H.-O. et al.) 203–320 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2022).

  100. Dowdeswell, J. A. & Ottesen, D. Geomorphic signature of the presence and breakup of large ice-sheet derived multi-keeled tabular icebergs. Mar. Geol. 451, 106889 (2022).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  101. Batchelor, C. L. et al. Mid-Norwegian margin corrugation ridge observations supporting ‘Rapid, buoyancy-driven ice-sheet retreat of hundreds of metres per day’. Cambridge Apollo Data Repository, https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.93638 (2023).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Kartverket (The Norwegian Mapping Authority; www.kartverket.no) for access to bathymetric data from the mid-Norwegian margin (including data acquired through the MAREANO programme (www.mareano.no), which are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license). We also thank the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) for financial support and V. Bellec (NGU) for the processing of bathymetric datasets. This work was funded by the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Research Fund, Newcastle University (to C.L.B.) and a Junior Research Fellowship, Peterhouse College, University of Cambridge (to A.M.). This document was also produced with the financial assistance (to F.D.W.C. and J.A.D.) of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Christine L. Batchelor

  2. Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Frazer D. W. Christie, Aleksandr Montelli, Evelyn K. Dowdeswell & Julian A. Dowdeswell

  3. Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim, Norway

    Dag Ottesen & Lilja R. Bjarnadóttir

  4. Geography and Environment, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

    Jeffrey Evans

Authors
  1. Christine L. Batchelor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Frazer D. W. Christie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dag Ottesen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Aleksandr Montelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jeffrey Evans
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Evelyn K. Dowdeswell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Lilja R. Bjarnadóttir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Julian A. Dowdeswell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

C.L.B. devised the project and analysed the marine-geophysical data. F.D.W.C. performed the hydrostatic calculations and produced Fig. 5. C.L.B. wrote the paper with input from F.D.W.C., and each coauthor contributed comments and suggestions during several iterations of the text and figures.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christine L. Batchelor.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature thanks Jeremy Bassis and Andrew Newton for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Peer reviewer reports are available.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Extended data figures and tables

Extended Data Fig. 1 Distribution of the 7,678 corrugation ridges mapped in this study.

Detailed bathymetric data: ©Kartverket. Background bathymetry is Olex single-beam echo-sounder data (grid cell size 50 m)45. Shelf break, seaward limit of exposed bedrock and GZW locations are from Ottesen et al.22. Geographical boundaries from European Environment Agency46. EDF, Extended Data Figure. Inset shows the grounded margin of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in Norway following the Last Glacial Maximum, based on the reconstruction of Sejrup et al.20, which incorporates available empirical age constraints (white circles). Maps produced using ESRI ArcMap.

Extended Data Fig. 2 Location of the 443 ridge-perpendicular transects measured in this study.

Detailed bathymetric data: ©Kartverket. The letters for each dataset correspond to those in Extended Data Table 1. Background bathymetry is Olex single-beam echo-sounder data (grid cell size 50 m)45. Shelf break, seaward limit of exposed bedrock and GZW locations are from Ottesen et al.22. Geographical boundaries from European Environment Agency46. Map produced using ESRI ArcMap.

Extended Data Fig. 3 Examples of corrugation ridges on the mid-Norwegian margin.

a, Corrugation ridges (CRs) in outer Trænadjupet (location in Extended Data Fig. 1). Detailed bathymetric data: ©Kartverket. Inset shows interpretation of landforms. b,c, Profiles across the CRs in a. d, CRs in inner Sklinnadjupet (location in Extended Data Fig. 1). Detailed bathymetric data: ©Kartverket. Inset shows interpretation of landforms. e,f, Profiles within and across the seafloor incisions in d. Grid cell size 5 m. Maps produced using ESRI ArcMap.

Extended Data Fig. 4 Examples of corrugation ridges overprinting MSGLs and GZWs.

a, Corrugation ridges in inner Sklinnadjupet (location in Extended Data Fig. 1). Detailed bathymetric data: ©Kartverket. Inset shows interpretation of landforms. b,c, Profiles across some of the corrugation ridges in a. d, Corrugation ridges in inner Sklinnadjupet (location in Extended Data Fig. 1). Detailed bathymetric data: ©Kartverket. Inset shows interpretation of landforms. e,f, Profiles across some of the corrugation ridges in d. Grid cell size 5 m. Maps produced using ESRI ArcMap.

Extended Data Fig. 5 The morphology of corrugation ridges within and beyond seafloor incisions.

a, Corrugation ridge amplitude and spacing, coloured by whether they are found within or beyond seafloor incisions (Methods). b, Corrugation ridge spacing and seafloor gradient, coloured by whether they are found within or beyond seafloor incisions. c, Map showing the distribution of corrugation ridges within and beyond seafloor incisions. Detailed bathymetric data: ©Kartverket. Background bathymetry is Olex single-beam echo-sounder data (grid cell size 50 m)45. Shelf break, seaward limit of exposed bedrock and GZW locations are from Ottesen et al.22. Geographical boundaries from European Environment Agency46. Map produced using ESRI ArcMap.

Extended Data Fig. 6 Examples of other types of subdued ridges on glaciated margins.

a, Recessional moraines on Haltenbanken, mid-Norwegian margin. b, Crevasse-squeeze ridges (CSRs) in Sklinnadjupet, mid-Norwegian margin. c, Sand waves in the Barents Sea. d, Tidal push ridges within iceberg ploughmarks in outer Trænadjupet, mid-Norwegian margin. Detailed bathymetric data: ©Kartverket. Data in all panels gridded with cell size 5 m. Maps produced using ESRI ArcMap.

Extended Data Fig. 7 The number of corrugation ridges measured in each transect.

a, Histogram showing the number of consecutive along-flow corrugation ridges measured in each long-profile transect. b, Example of one of the longest corrugation ridge transects in the study area (location in c). Detailed bathymetric data: ©Kartverket. Grid cell size 5 m. c, Map showing the distribution of transect lengths across the mid-Norwegian margin. Detailed bathymetric data: ©Kartverket. Background bathymetry is Olex single-beam echo-sounder data (grid cell size 50 m)45. Shelf break, seaward limit of exposed bedrock and GZW locations are from Ottesen et al.22. Geographical boundaries from European Environment Agency46. Map produced using ESRI ArcMap.

Extended Data Table 1 Acquisition details for the multibeam echo-sounder data used in this study
Full size table
Extended Data Table 2 Rates of grounding-line retreat and ice-shelf thinning, as presented in and/or inferred from marine-geological and satellite-based studies
Full size table

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Batchelor, C.L., Christie, F.D.W., Ottesen, D. et al. Rapid, buoyancy-driven ice-sheet retreat of hundreds of metres per day. Nature 617, 105–110 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05876-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05876-1

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing