Ice shelves: a review.

Abstract

Wastage from ice shelves is principally by calving and by bottom melting. There has been no direct measurement of bottom-melting rates, but indirect evidence suggests that, near the seaward edges of ice shelves, bottom-melting rates may exceed one meter per year, with significant melting within about 100km of the ice front. We need to improve our understanding of basal flux, ice-shelf dynamics near the grounding line, the calving of icebergs, and the state of equilibrium of ice rises. -from Author