Project PIs:
When icebergs fracture from ice sheets they often become trapped in a dense icy aggregation called mélange that fringes the coastlines of Greenland and parts of Antarctica. This melange controls the annual cycle of ice sheet mass loss through iceberg fracture at many glaciers and also the rate at which icebergs enter into the open ocean. Once in the open ocean, icebergs can influence ocean circulation through the input of fresh meltwater and may also cause hazardous conditions in Arctic shipping lanes.
This project seeks to characterize the behavior of iceberg melange, its influence on mass loss from ice sheets, and its role in setting the ocean-wide distribution of iceberg hazards.
