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A systematic programme of side-scan sonar and plumb- line soundings was carried out in the Weddell Sea area in 1985 to measure the under-water sides of ice shelves and icebergs. From these observations the following model is suggested for the evolution of the ice front: (1) Initial stage: fracturing of the ice shelves takes place along smooth, curvi-linear segments with vertical faces. (2) Formative stage: the freshly formed vertical face is eroded both by wave and swell action around the water line, by small calvings from the undercut, overhanging subaerial face, and by submarine melting. The melting has a minimum at 50–100 m depth, and increases with depth to a rate of around 10 m a−1 at 200 m, This is about twice the rate of erosion at the water line. The variation in melting with depth results from a combination of summer melting by near-surface water, and year-round melting by water masses that are increasingly warmer than the pressure melting-point with depth. (3) Mature stage: this stage is reached after a few years of exposure. The backward erosion of the face leads to a shape with a prominent under-water “nose” with a maximum projection to more than 50 m at 50–100 m depth. The ramp above this slopes upwards to meet the vertical wall about 5 m below the water line. The ice below the nose is melted back beyond the above-water face. There is no net buoyancy and ice shelves at this mature stage are generally not up-warped at the front.

Publisher: Cambridge University Press