Channelized topography amplifies melt-sensitivity of cold Antarctic ice shelves

Channelized topography amplifies melt-sensitivity of cold Antarctic ice shelves | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Channelized topography amplifies melt-sensitivity of cold Antarctic ice shelves Qin Zhou, Tore Hattermann, Chen Zhao, Rupert Gladstone, Julius Lauber, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7808545/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 07 May, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The stability of Antarctic ice shelves, which regulate the flow of grounded ice into the ocean, depends critically on ocean-driven basal melting. Basal channels, widespread features beneath many ice shelves, focus thinning and reduce stability, yet their oceanic drivers remain poorly understood. Using high-resolution simulations of a cold-water ice shelf cavity, we show that interactions between circulation and channelized topography generate localized overturning that traps intruding warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) beneath the ice, amplifying melt rates by an order of magnitude within channels. The resulting differential melting promotes channel growth and drives a fourfold increase in total basal mass loss, undermining the structural stability of the deeper part of the ice shelf. Our results reveal a key mechanism for basal channel evolution and indicate that even modest CDW intrusions could destabilize cold Antarctic ice shelves. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Cryospheric science Earth and environmental sciences/Ocean sciences/Physical oceanography Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 07 May, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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