Finite Element Simulation of Frost Wedging in Ice Shelves

Break-up events in ice shelves have been studied extensively during the last years. One popular assumption links disintegration events to surface melting of the ice shelf in conjunction with growing melt-water ponds, leading to hydro-fracture. As this explanation only holds during warm seasons [1], the possibility of frost wedging as forcing mechanism for autumn and winter break-up events is considered. Frost wedging can only occur if a closed ice lid seals the water inside the crack. Hence, the present study of frost wedging in a single crack uses ice lid thicknesses to evaluate the additional pressure on the crack faces. The investigation of the resulting stress intensity factor as a measure of crack criticality follows consequently. The results show that freezing water inside a crack can result in unstable crack growth of an initially stable water filled crack. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)