Fast Recession of a West Antarctic Glacier

Satellite radar interferometry observations of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, reveal that the glacier hinge-line position retreated 1.2 ± 0.3 kilometers per year between 1992 and 1996, which in turn implies that the ice thinned by 3.5 ± 0.9 meters per year. The fast recession of Pine Island G...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Author: Rignot, E. J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1998
Subjects:
Antarctic
Pine Island Glacier
West Antarctic Ice Sheet
West Antarctica
Antarc*
Antarctica
Ice Sheet
Pine Island
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.281.5376.549
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.281.5376.549
Description
Summary:Satellite radar interferometry observations of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, reveal that the glacier hinge-line position retreated 1.2 ± 0.3 kilometers per year between 1992 and 1996, which in turn implies that the ice thinned by 3.5 ± 0.9 meters per year. The fast recession of Pine Island Glacier, predicted to be a possible trigger for the disintegration of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, is attributed to enhanced basal melting of the glacier floating tongue by warm ocean waters.

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