Tributaries of West Antarctic Ice Streams Revealed by RADARSAT Interferometry

Interferometric RADARSAT data are used to map ice motion in the source areas of four West Antarctic ice streams. The data reveal that tributaries, coincident with subglacial valleys, provide a spatially extensive transition between slow inland flow and rapid ice stream flow and that adjacent ice str...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Joughin, Ian, Gray, Laurence, Bindschadler, Robert, Price, Stephen, Morse, David, Hulbe, Christina, Mattar, Karim, Werner, Charles
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1999
Subjects:
Multidisciplinary
Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctica
Ice Stream C
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5438.283
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.286.5438.283
Description
Summary:Interferometric RADARSAT data are used to map ice motion in the source areas of four West Antarctic ice streams. The data reveal that tributaries, coincident with subglacial valleys, provide a spatially extensive transition between slow inland flow and rapid ice stream flow and that adjacent ice streams draw from shared source regions. Two tributaries flow into the stagnant ice stream C, creating an extensive region that is thickening at an average rate of 0.49 meters per year. This is one of the largest rates of thickening ever reported in Antarctica.

Similar Items