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Abstract

Suture zones are abundant on Antarctic ice shelves and widely observed to impede fracture propagation, greatly enhancing ice-shelf stability. Using seismic and radar observations on the Larsen C Ice Shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula, we confirm that such zones are highly heterogeneous, consisting of multiple meteoric and marine ice bodies of diverse provenance fused together. Here we demonstrate that fracture detainment is predominantly controlled by enhanced seawater content in suture zones, rather than by enhanced temperature as previously thought. We show that interstitial seawater can reduce fracture-driving stress by orders of magnitude, promoting both viscous relaxation and the development of micro cracks, the incidence of which scales inversely with stress intensity. We show how simple analysis of viscous buckles in ice-penetrating radar data can quantify the seawater content of suture zones and their modification of the ice-shelf’s stress regime. By limiting fracture, enhancing stability and restraining continental ice discharge into the ocean, suture zones act as vital regulators of Antarctic mass balance.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Kulessa, b and Booth, AD and O'Leary, M and McGrath, D and King, EC and Luckman, AJ and Holland, PR and Jansen, D and Bevan, SL and Thompson, SS and Hubbard, B
Keywords:	ice shelf stability, Antarctica
Journal or Publication Title:	Nature Communications
Publisher:	Nature Publishing Group
ISSN:	2041-1723
DOI / ID Number:	10.1038/s41467-019-13539-x
Copyright Information:	Copyright 2019 The Authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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