How Do Ice Shelves Calve? Peridynamic Modeling of Ice Shelf Fracture Driven by Wave Erosion, Basal Melting, and Buoyancy Flexure

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel peridynamics modeling framework to simulate ice shelf calving driven by wave erosion, basal melting, and buoyancy effects, capturing fracture processes more effectively than traditional methods.

Contribution

It is the first to apply a physics-based peridynamics approach to model ice calving, enabling detailed simulation of crack initiation, interaction, and propagation under environmental forces.

Findings

The PD framework accurately predicts crack initiation and growth in ice shelves.

Validation shows strong agreement with finite element models and field observations.

The model provides insights into fracture mechanisms under wave and buoyancy influences.

Abstract

An ice shelf is a floating extension of a land-based ice sheet into the ocean. It plays a crucial role in slowing down the flow of land ice into the sea, thus stabilizing the ice sheet. However, this stabilizing effect can be weakened by ice calving, a process in which large fragments of ice detach from the ice shelf. Although ice calving is widely acknowledged as a major contributor to ice mass loss, and its frequency and magnitude are highly sensitive to the environmental forcing, the underlying physics-based mechanisms remain poorly understood, particularly under ocean wave actions. In this context, we developed a nonlocal peridynamics (PD) framework to model the ice calving process subjected to wave-induced frontal corrosion. The proposed physics-based PD framework enables investigation of the coupled effects of self-weight bending, buoyancy-induced foot loosening, and ice calving process. To authors' best knowledge, this work represents the first attempt to employ a physics-based peridynamics framework for simulating ice calving processes. Compared with conventional finite element methods (FEM), the PD framework naturally captures crack initiation, interaction, and propagation without the need for special numerical treatments, thereby providing a robust tool for simulating fracture phenomena under large deformations and long-term environmental loading. To quantitatively resolve fracture processes, we implemented a static first Piola Kirchhoff virial stress formulation within the PD framework, allowing direct evaluation of stress concentration and energy release at evolving crack tips. Subsequently, the model is rigorously validated through one-to-one comparisons with finite-element stress fields, analytical beam-theory solutions, and recent field observations of wave-driven ice-shelf failure reported by Sartore et al. (2025).