Sentinel-1 detection of seasonal and perennial firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula
In recent years, the existence of firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) has been confirmed by in-situ observations. Given their importance for understanding the hydrology of the Antarctic ice sheet, a more spatially comprehensive assessment of AP firn aquifers is desirable. The purpose of th...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tcd104710 2023-05-15T13:38:41+02:00 Sentinel-1 detection of seasonal and perennial firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula Buth, Lena G. Wouters, Bert Veldhuijsen, Sanne B. M. Lhermitte, Stef Kuipers Munneke, Peter Broeke, Michiel R. 2022-10-04 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-127 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-127/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-2022-127 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-127/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2022 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-127 2022-10-10T16:22:43Z In recent years, the existence of firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) has been confirmed by in-situ observations. Given their importance for understanding the hydrology of the Antarctic ice sheet, a more spatially comprehensive assessment of AP firn aquifers is desirable. The purpose of this study is to map firn aquifers in the AP from space using C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery from ESA’s Sentinel-1 mission. These observations enable the detection of firn aquifers at 1 × 1 km 2 resolution. The method presented here is based on quantifying the characteristic, gradual backscatter increase during the (partial) refreezing of the liquid water in the firn layer after the peak melt season. When applied to the available time series, it detects perennial aquifers (existing year-round) for the period 2017 to 2020, as well as seasonal aquifers which do not persist through winter. We acknowledge that the backscatter signature in any given year is indistinguishable for seasonal and perennial aquifers. We detect seasonal firn aquifers in the north and northwest of the AP, as well as on the Wilkins and George VI ice shelves. Only in the north and northwest of the AP, aquifers are detected each year in the observation period, here taken as a proxy for perennial firn aquifers. Both distributions agree with model simulations. Further in situ and modelling studies and longer time series of satellite observations are needed to validate the results of this study. Text Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet Ice Shelves Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Wilkins ENVELOPE(59.326,59.326,-67.248,-67.248) |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
In recent years, the existence of firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) has been confirmed by in-situ observations. Given their importance for understanding the hydrology of the Antarctic ice sheet, a more spatially comprehensive assessment of AP firn aquifers is desirable. The purpose of this study is to map firn aquifers in the AP from space using C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery from ESA’s Sentinel-1 mission. These observations enable the detection of firn aquifers at 1 × 1 km 2 resolution. The method presented here is based on quantifying the characteristic, gradual backscatter increase during the (partial) refreezing of the liquid water in the firn layer after the peak melt season. When applied to the available time series, it detects perennial aquifers (existing year-round) for the period 2017 to 2020, as well as seasonal aquifers which do not persist through winter. We acknowledge that the backscatter signature in any given year is indistinguishable for seasonal and perennial aquifers. We detect seasonal firn aquifers in the north and northwest of the AP, as well as on the Wilkins and George VI ice shelves. Only in the north and northwest of the AP, aquifers are detected each year in the observation period, here taken as a proxy for perennial firn aquifers. Both distributions agree with model simulations. Further in situ and modelling studies and longer time series of satellite observations are needed to validate the results of this study. |
format |
Text |
author |
Buth, Lena G. Wouters, Bert Veldhuijsen, Sanne B. M. Lhermitte, Stef Kuipers Munneke, Peter Broeke, Michiel R. |
spellingShingle |
Buth, Lena G. Wouters, Bert Veldhuijsen, Sanne B. M. Lhermitte, Stef Kuipers Munneke, Peter Broeke, Michiel R. Sentinel-1 detection of seasonal and perennial firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula |
author_facet |
Buth, Lena G. Wouters, Bert Veldhuijsen, Sanne B. M. Lhermitte, Stef Kuipers Munneke, Peter Broeke, Michiel R. |
author_sort |
Buth, Lena G. |
title |
Sentinel-1 detection of seasonal and perennial firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula |
title_short |
Sentinel-1 detection of seasonal and perennial firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full |
Sentinel-1 detection of seasonal and perennial firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula |
title_fullStr |
Sentinel-1 detection of seasonal and perennial firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sentinel-1 detection of seasonal and perennial firn aquifers in the Antarctic Peninsula |
title_sort |
sentinel-1 detection of seasonal and perennial firn aquifers in the antarctic peninsula |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-127 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-127/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(59.326,59.326,-67.248,-67.248) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Wilkins |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Wilkins |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet Ice Shelves |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet Ice Shelves |
op_source |
eISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-2022-127 https://tc.copernicus.org/preprints/tc-2022-127/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-127 |
_version_ |
1766109603830956032 |