Stress State and Mechanics of Ice Shelves Collapse

The stress state of ice shelves using numerical modeling is studied. An ice shelf is modeled by an elastic plate floating on water and attached to the ice cover at a grounding point. Stress calculations are carried out using the FLAC3D program. The resulting stresses significantly exceed the tensile strength of the glacier during bending. The maximum tensile stresses on the lower surface of the glacier near the grounding point reach 5 × 10⁷ Pa and significantly exceed the maximum strength values of the glacier. The mechanism of rapid transformation of a solid ice shelf into mélange is shown. During the deformation process, vertical displacements (ice ridges) can reach tens of meters.