The calving of Antarctic ice shelves remains unpredictable to date due to a lack of understanding of the role of the different climatic components in such events. In this study, the role of atmospheric forcing in the calving of the Brunt Ice Shelf (BIS) in February 2021 is investigated using a combination of observational and reanalysis data. The occurrence of a series of extreme cyclones around the time of the calving induced an oceanward sea-surface slope of >0.08° leading to the calving along a pre-existing rift. The severe storms were sustained by the development of a pressure dipole on both sides of the BIS associated with a La Niña event and the positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode. Poleward advection of warm and moist low-latitude air over the BIS area just before the calving was also observed in association with atmospheric rivers accompanying the cyclones. Immediately after the calving, strong offshore winds continued and promoted the drift of the iceberg A-74 in the Weddell Sea at a speed up to 700 m day−1. This study highlights the contribution of local atmospheric conditions to ice-shelf dynamics. The link to the larger scale circulation patterns indicates that both need to be accounted for in the projections of Antarctic ice shelf evolution.@en

Ice shelf instability is one of the main sources of uncertainty in Antarctica's contribution to future sea level rise. Calving events play a crucial role in ice shelf weakening but remain unpredictable, and their governing processes are still poorly understood. In this study, we analyze the unexpected September 2019 calving event from the Amery Ice Shelf, the largest since 1963 and which occurred almost a decade earlier than expected, to better understand the role of the atmosphere in calving.We find that atmospheric extremes provided a deterministic role in this event. A series of anomalously deep and stationary explosive twin polar cyclones over the Cooperation and Davis seas generated tides and winddriven ocean slope, leading to fracture amplification along the pre-existing rift and ultimately calving of the massive iceberg. The calving was triggered by high oceanward sea surface slopes produced by the storms. The observed recordanomalous atmospheric conditions were promoted by blocking ridges and Antarctic-wide anomalous poleward transport of heat and moisture. Blocking highs helped in (i) directing moist and warm air masses towards the ice shelf and (ii) maintaining the observed extreme cyclones stationary at the front of the ice shelf for several days. Accumulation of cold air over the ice sheet, due to the blocking highs, led to the formation of an intense cold high pressure over the ice sheet, which helped fuel sustained anomalously deep cyclones via increased baroclinicity. Our results stress the importance of atmospheric extremes in ice shelf dynamics via tides and sea surface slope and its need to be accounted for when considering Antarctic ice shelf variability and contribution to sea level, especially given that more of these extremes are predicted under a warmer climate. @en

Pine Island Glacier (PIG) has recently experienced increased ice loss that has mostly been attributed to basal melt and ocean ice dynamics. However, atmospheric forcing also plays a role in the ice mass budget, as besides lower-latitude warm air intrusions, the steeply sloping terrain that surrounds the glacier promotes frequent Foehn winds. An investigation of 41 years of reanalysis data reveals that Foehn occurs more frequently from June to October, with Foehn episodes typically lasting about 5 to 9 h. An analysis of the surface mass balance indicated that their largest impact is on the surface sublimation, which is increased by about 1.43 mm water equivalent (w.e.) per day with respect to no-Foehn events. Blowing snow makes roughly the same contribution as snowfall, around 0.34–0.36 mm w.e. d−1, but with the opposite sign. The melting rate is 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the surface sublimation rate. The negative phase of the Antarctic oscillation and the positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode promote the occurrence of Foehn at PIG. A particularly strong event took place on 9–11 November 2011, when 10 m winds speeds in excess of 20 m s−1 led to downward sensible heat fluxes higher than 75 W m−2 as they descended the mountainous terrain. Surface sublimation and blowing-snow sublimation dominated the surface mass balance, with magnitudes of up to 0.13 mm w.e. h−1. Satellite data indicated an hourly surface melting area exceeding 100 km2. Our results stress the importance of the atmospheric forcing on the ice mass balance at PIG.@en

Mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) has accelerated over the past two decades, coincident with rapid Arctic warming and increasing moisture transport over Greenland by atmospheric rivers (ARs). Summer ARs affecting western Greenland trigger GrIS melt events, but the physical mechanisms through which ARs induce melt are not well understood. This study elucidates the coupled surface-atmosphere processes by which ARs force GrIS melt through analysis of the surface energy balance (SEB), cloud properties, and local- to synoptic-scale atmospheric conditions during strong summer AR events affecting western Greenland. ARs are identified in MERRA-2 reanalysis (1980-2017) and classified by integrated water vapor transport (IVT) intensity. SEB, cloud, and atmospheric data from regional climate model, observational, reanalysis, and satellite-based datasets are used to analyze melt-inducing physical processes during strong,.90th percentile ''AR901'' events. Near AR ''landfall,'' AR901 days feature increased cloud cover that reduces net shortwave radiation and increases net longwave radiation. As these oppositely signed radiative anomalies partly cancel during AR901 events, increased melt energy in the ablation zone is primarily provided by turbulent heat fluxes, particularly sensible heat flux. These turbulent heat fluxes are driven by enhanced barrier winds generated by a stronger synoptic pressure gradient combined with an enhanced local temperature contrast between cool over-ice air and the anomalously warm surrounding atmosphere. During AR901 events in northwest Greenland, anomalous melt is forced remotely through a clear-sky foehn regime produced by downslope flow in eastern Greenland.@en