Analysis of continuous calving front retreat and the associated influencing factors of the Thwaites Glacier using high-resolution remote sensing data from 2015 to 2023 ...

• Main Authors: Zhu, Qi, Guo, Huadong, Zhang, Lu, Liang, Dong, Wu, Zherong, Liu, Yiming, Dou, Xinyu, Du, Xiaobing
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2024
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; Infectious Diseases; FOS: Health sciences; Virology; Antarc*; Antarctic; Thwaites Glacier
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.26712199.v1; https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/online_resource/Analysis_of_continuous_calving_front_retreat_and_the_associated_influencing_factors_of_the_Thwaites_Glacier_using_high-resolution_remote_sensing_data_from_2015_to_2023/26712199/1

The Thwaites Glacier (TG), accounting for four percent of present-day sea-level rise, has been confirmed with the irreversible retreat and thinning. Consequently, understanding the continuous calving front retreat within the TG is pivotal for accurately monitoring glacier dynamics and future Antarctic impact on global climate change. In this study, based on the novel deep learning method for calving front delineation and the surface melt detection framework, we utilized high-resolution remote sensing data from 2015 to 2023 to analyze continuous calving retreat and the associated influencing factors including surface melt, and ice velocity of the TG. Our findings reveal a retreat of 18.0 km and a mass loss of 226.4km2. Satellite data illustrate prolonged and intense melting periods in the 2016/2017 melting season, correlating with a significant retreat in the glacier's terminus position in early 2017. We also demonstrate that the ice flow velocity on the near the pinning point remains consistently slow and ...