A water-piracy hypothesis for the stagnation of Ice Stream C, Antarctica

R. B. Alley, S. Anandakrishnan, C. R. Bentley, N. Lord

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

78 Scopus citations

Abstract

Water piracy by Ice Stream B, West Antarctica, may have caused neighboring Ice Stream C to stop. The modern hydrologic potentials near the upstream end of the main trunk of Ice Stream C are directing water from the C catchment into Ice Stream B. Interruption of water supply from the catchment would have reduced water lubrication on bedrock regions projecting through lubricating basal till and stopped the ice stream in a few years or decades, short enough to appear almost instantaneous. This hypothesis explains several new data sets from Ice Stream C and makes predictions that might be testable. -Authors

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)187-194
Number of pages8
JournalAnnals of Glaciology
Volume20
DOIs
StatePublished - 1994

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Earth-Surface Processes

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