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Ice shelf calving constitutes roughly half of the total mass loss from the Antarctic ice sheet. Although much attention is paid to calving of giant tabular icebergs, these events are relatively rare. Here, we investigate the role of frontal melting and stresses at the ice shelf front in driving bending and calving on the scale of ∼100 m, perpendicular to the ice edge. We focus in particular on how buoyant underwater "feet" that protrude beyond the above-water ice cliff may cause tensile stresses at the base of the ice. Indirect and anecdotal observations of such feet at the Ross Ice Shelf front suggest that the resulting bending may be widespread and can trigger calving. We consider satellite observations together with an elastic beam model and a parameterization of wave erosion to better understand the dynamics at the ice shelf front. Our results suggest that on average frontal ablation rather consistently accounts for 20±5 m yr−1 of ice loss at Ross Ice Shelf, likely mostly due to wave erosion and smaller-scale, O (100 m), foot-induced calving. This constitutes only ∼2 % of the total frontal mass loss (since near-front ice velocities are ∼1000 m yr−1). Observational evidence suggests that sporadic larger events can skew this rate (we document one foot-induced calving event of size ∼1 km). Stresses from foot-induced bending are likely not sufficient to initiate crevassing but rather act to propagate existing crevasses. In addition, our results support recent findings by that additional bending moments, likely due to temperature gradients in the ice, may play a role in driving frontal deflections. The highly variable environment, irregularity of pre-existing crevasse spacing, and complex rheology of the ice continue to pose challenges in better constraining the drivers behind the observed deformations and resulting calving rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice shelf calving constitutes roughly half of the total mass loss from the Antarctic ice sheet. Although much attention is paid to calving of giant tabular icebergs, these events are relatively rare. More frequent, smaller-scale calving events likely play an important role in the ice shelf frontal dynamics. Here, we investigate the role of bending stresses at the ice shelf front in driving calving on the scale 100 m – 1 km, perpendicular to the ice edge. We focus in particular on how buoyant underwater 'feet' that protrude beyond the above-water ice cliff may cause tensile stresses at the base of the ice and ultimately lead to fracture. Indirect and anecdotal observations of such feet at the Ross Ice Shelf front suggest that this process may be widespread. We consider satellite observations, together with an elastic beam model and a parameterization of frontal wave erosion to estimate the size and frequency of such calving events. Our results suggest that foot-induced mass loss at Ross Ice Shelf may cause up to 25 % of the total frontal ablation. However, stresses induced through this process are likely not sufficient to initiate crevassing but rather act to propagate existing crevasses. In addition, the relatively strong ice thickness dependence of the frontal uplift suggests an important role for internal bending moments due to temperature gradients in the ice. The highly variable environment, irregularity of pre-existing crevasse spacing, and complex rheology of the ice continue to pose challenges in better constraining the drivers behind the observed deformations and resulting calving rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]