Weak relationship between remotely detected crevasses and inferred ice rheological parameters on Antarctic ice shelves
Over the past decade, a wealth of research has been devoted to the detection of crevasses in glaciers and ice sheets via remote sensing and machine learning techniques. It is often argued that remotely sensed damage maps can function as early warning signals for shifts in ice shelf conditions from i...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:egusphere115376 2024-09-15T17:45:23+00:00 Weak relationship between remotely detected crevasses and inferred ice rheological parameters on Antarctic ice shelves Gerli, Cristina Rosier, Sebastian Gudmundsson, Hilmar Sun, Sainan 2024-06-06 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2362 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-2362/ eng eng doi:10.5194/egusphere-2023-2362 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-2362/ eISSN: Text 2024 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2362 2024-08-28T05:24:15Z Over the past decade, a wealth of research has been devoted to the detection of crevasses in glaciers and ice sheets via remote sensing and machine learning techniques. It is often argued that remotely sensed damage maps can function as early warning signals for shifts in ice shelf conditions from intact to damaged states and can serve as an important tool for ice sheet modellers to improve future sea level rise predictions. Here, we provide evidence for the Filchner–Ronne and Pine Island ice shelves that remotely sensed damage maps are only weakly related to the ice rate factor field A derived by an ice flow model when inverting for surface velocities. This technique is a common procedure in ice flow models, as it guarantees that any inferred changes in A relate to changes in ice flow measured through observations. The weak relationship found is improved when investigating heavily damaged shear margins, as observed on the Pine Island Ice Shelf; however, even in this setting, this association remains modest. Our findings suggest that many features identified as damage through remote sensing methods are not of direct relevance to present-day ice shelf flow. While damage can clearly play an important role in ice shelf processes and thus be relevant for ice sheet behaviour and sea level rise projections, our results imply that mapping ice damage directly from satellite observations may not directly help improve the representation of these processes in ice flow models. Text Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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English |
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Over the past decade, a wealth of research has been devoted to the detection of crevasses in glaciers and ice sheets via remote sensing and machine learning techniques. It is often argued that remotely sensed damage maps can function as early warning signals for shifts in ice shelf conditions from intact to damaged states and can serve as an important tool for ice sheet modellers to improve future sea level rise predictions. Here, we provide evidence for the Filchner–Ronne and Pine Island ice shelves that remotely sensed damage maps are only weakly related to the ice rate factor field A derived by an ice flow model when inverting for surface velocities. This technique is a common procedure in ice flow models, as it guarantees that any inferred changes in A relate to changes in ice flow measured through observations. The weak relationship found is improved when investigating heavily damaged shear margins, as observed on the Pine Island Ice Shelf; however, even in this setting, this association remains modest. Our findings suggest that many features identified as damage through remote sensing methods are not of direct relevance to present-day ice shelf flow. While damage can clearly play an important role in ice shelf processes and thus be relevant for ice sheet behaviour and sea level rise projections, our results imply that mapping ice damage directly from satellite observations may not directly help improve the representation of these processes in ice flow models. |
format |
Text |
author |
Gerli, Cristina Rosier, Sebastian Gudmundsson, Hilmar Sun, Sainan |
spellingShingle |
Gerli, Cristina Rosier, Sebastian Gudmundsson, Hilmar Sun, Sainan Weak relationship between remotely detected crevasses and inferred ice rheological parameters on Antarctic ice shelves |
author_facet |
Gerli, Cristina Rosier, Sebastian Gudmundsson, Hilmar Sun, Sainan |
author_sort |
Gerli, Cristina |
title |
Weak relationship between remotely detected crevasses and inferred ice rheological parameters on Antarctic ice shelves |
title_short |
Weak relationship between remotely detected crevasses and inferred ice rheological parameters on Antarctic ice shelves |
title_full |
Weak relationship between remotely detected crevasses and inferred ice rheological parameters on Antarctic ice shelves |
title_fullStr |
Weak relationship between remotely detected crevasses and inferred ice rheological parameters on Antarctic ice shelves |
title_full_unstemmed |
Weak relationship between remotely detected crevasses and inferred ice rheological parameters on Antarctic ice shelves |
title_sort |
weak relationship between remotely detected crevasses and inferred ice rheological parameters on antarctic ice shelves |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2362 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-2362/ |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
op_source |
eISSN: |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/egusphere-2023-2362 https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-2362/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2362 |
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1810493174095806464 |