Marine Ice-shelf Instability

Thinning of the buttressing ice shelf leads to acceleration of ice sheet flow and thinning of the marine-terminated ice margin. As bedrock under the ice sheet slopes towards the ice sheet interior, the thinning of ice causes the grounding line to retreat. This in turn causes an increase of the seaward ice flux, which further thins the ice margin, and retreats the grounding line.
 

Credits: Muhammad Hadi Ikhsan/ Earth Observatory of Singapore.