Prediction of iceberg trajectories for the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans

Bigg, Grant R., Wadley, Martin R., Stevens, David P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7283-4405 and Johnson, John A. (1996) Prediction of iceberg trajectories for the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Geophysical Research Letters, 23 (24). pp. 3587-3590. ISSN 1944-8007

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Abstract

Icebergs are a well-known hazard for shipping. Their study also provides information about diverse geophysical processes, as varied as ocean circulation, air-sea fluxes, calving rates of glaciers or the mass balance of ice sheets. As a first step to obtaining this information from iceberg data we have developed a model of iceberg drift driven by ocean and atmospheric forcing derived from general circulation models. We have applied the drift model to a distribution of typical icebergs released from the main tidewater glaciers of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. We demonstrate that the main driving force of iceberg motion is rooted in the unsteady component of oceanic advection. From simulated trajectories we are able to reproduce the observed southwards limit of iceberg penetration and demonstrate sometimes surprising geographical links between iceberg origin and ultimate melting zones. Copyright 1996 by the American Geophysical Union.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science > School of Mathematics University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Fluid and Solid Mechanics
Depositing User:	David Stevens
Date Deposited:	01 Dec 2010 14:12
Last Modified:	08 Jul 2023 00:28
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/15866
DOI:	10.1029/96GL03369

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