Recent changes in two outlet glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula using multi-temporal Landsat and Sentinel-1 data

• Published in: Geocarto International
• Main Authors: Carolina L. Simões, Katia K. Rosa, Jefferson C. Simões, Rosemary Vieira, Rafaela M. Costa, Aline B. Silva
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2020
• Subjects: west antarctic peninsula; ice front retreat; climate change; tidewater calving glaciers; Physical geography; GB3-5030; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Drummond Glacier; The Antarctic; Widdowson Glacier; Antarc*; Tidewater
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2019.1576776; https://doaj.org/article/668761b6932244eba9ab77b09a7a2c8a

This work investigates the dynamics of the ice front retreat of two tidewater glaciers in adjacent valleys, Drummond and Widdowson (66°43'S, 65°46'W), on the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula over the past six decades. The Widdowson Glacier had a more significant area loss (36.37 km2 or 16.97%) and a higher snow line elevation (200 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in 2016) than the Drummond Glacier (19.11 km2, or 4.33%; snow line at 100 m a.s.l. in 2016). This difference in the retreat of the two glaciers is attributed slopes and accumulation areas values. The glacier with a smaller area, Widdowson, has been shown to be more sensitive to environmental changes Their steeper glacier front may have influenced the calving rate and generated a more efficient basal slip, increasing the ice flow rate and consequently increasing the retreat rate.