| Summary: | Progress Code: completed Statement: The values provided in temporal and spatial coverage are approximate only. Taken from the 2008-2009 Progress Report: Variations to work plan or objectives: The only variation has been to geographically extend Objective 3 to analyse the potentially significant impact of very thick fast ice on the dynamic and calving behaviour of the floating Mertz Glacier Tongue (see Section 1.1 above). It is anticipated that this extension will enhance the project, by highlighting a previously overlooked yet potentially important process affecting floating glacier tongue/ice shelf breakup, whereby strong coupling between very thick perennial sea ice and continental ice provides stability in certain ice sheet margin regions. It also enhances the link with AAS Project #2698 (PI: Warner), on which Dr Massom is a Co-I ("Antarctica - past, present, and future: exploring the dynamic interactions of ice sheet and ice shelves within the global climate system through computer modeling"). Field work: This is predominantly a remote sensing-based project. However, in situ and airborne observations of fast ice acquired during SIPEX (V1 2007/8) by other projects on which the PI (Massom) is a Co-I (#2901 and 3030) may prove to be useful in helping to interpret satellite laser altimeter-based estimates of fast ice thickness. Moreover, and given its extreme age and thickness, possible biological importance and glaciological significance (see 3 below), the region of perennial fast ice to the immediate east of the Mertz Glacier tongue is a prime candidate for a future multi-disciplinary field measurement campaign. Such measurements would address current major unknowns affecting our satellite altimeter-based estimates of the fast ice thickness, including snow cover thickness and density and ice density. Metadata record for data from AAS (ASAC) Project 3024. Public The proposed research will derive improved estimates of East Antarctic fast-ice extent and thickness, and their variability, from satellite data. ...
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