How can long ocean swells trigger iceberg calving?

Long ocean swells can trigger iceberg calving by exerting bending stress on floating ice shelves and glacier tongues. As these long, storm-generated swells—which can originate from thousands of kilometers away—reach the exposed seaward front of the ice, they cause the ice to oscillate.1

This oscillation creates a bending stress that is particularly pronounced in glacier tongues, which are long, narrow floating ice shelves that protrude far into the ocean. The continuous movement caused by the swell forces the ice to bend until it eventually fractures and calves. Scientists have confirmed this process by using tiltmeters to monitor the breaking stress occurring near the ice front, directly linking these calving events to the arrival of distant ocean swells.1