Ice Flow of the Antarctic Ice Sheet

• Main Authors: Rignot, E, Mouginot, J, Scheuchl, B
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: eScholarship, University of California 2011
• Subjects: General Science & Technology; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet; International Polar Year
• Online Access: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4f48k1mq

We present a reference, comprehensive, high-resolution, digital mosaic of ice motion in Antarctica assembled from multiple satellite interferometric synthetic-aperture radar data acquired during the International Polar Year 2007 to 2009. The data reveal widespread, patterned, enhanced flow with tributary glaciers reaching hundreds to thousands of kilometers inland over the entire continent. This view of ice sheet motion emphasizes the importance of basal-slip-dominated tributary flow over deformation-dominated ice sheet flow, redefines our understanding of ice sheet dynamics, and has far-reaching implications for the reconstruction and prediction of ice sheet evolution.