The 32-year record-high surface melt in 2019/2020 on the northern George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula
In the 2019/2020 austral summer, the surface melt duration and extent on the northern George VI Ice Shelf (GVIIS) was exceptional compared to the 31 previous summers of distinctly lower melt. This finding is based on analysis of near-continuous 41-year satellite microwave radiometer and scatteromete...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:69fe458baca24008a5c798ccda13e9f0 2023-05-15T13:57:01+02:00 The 32-year record-high surface melt in 2019/2020 on the northern George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula A. F. Banwell R. T. Datta R. L. Dell M. Moussavi L. Brucker G. Picard C. A. Shuman L. A. Stevens 2021-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-909-2021 https://doaj.org/article/69fe458baca24008a5c798ccda13e9f0 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/909/2021/tc-15-909-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-15-909-2021 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/69fe458baca24008a5c798ccda13e9f0 The Cryosphere, Vol 15, Pp 909-925 (2021) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-909-2021 2022-12-31T05:28:34Z In the 2019/2020 austral summer, the surface melt duration and extent on the northern George VI Ice Shelf (GVIIS) was exceptional compared to the 31 previous summers of distinctly lower melt. This finding is based on analysis of near-continuous 41-year satellite microwave radiometer and scatterometer data, which are sensitive to meltwater on the ice shelf surface and in the near-surface snow. Using optical satellite imagery from Landsat 8 (2013 to 2020) and Sentinel-2 (2017 to 2020), record volumes of surface meltwater ponding were also observed on the northern GVIIS in 2019/2020, with 23 % of the surface area covered by 0.62 km 3 of ponded meltwater on 19 January. These exceptional melt and surface ponding conditions in 2019/2020 were driven by sustained air temperatures ≥0 ∘ C for anomalously long periods (55 to 90 h) from late November onwards, which limited meltwater refreezing. The sustained warm periods were likely driven by warm, low-speed ( ≤7.5 m s −1 ) northwesterly and northeasterly winds and not by foehn wind conditions, which were only present for 9 h total in the 2019/2020 melt season. Increased surface ponding on ice shelves may threaten their stability through increased potential for hydrofracture initiation; a risk that may increase due to firn air content depletion in response to near-surface melting. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula George VI Ice Shelf Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral George VI Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(-67.840,-67.840,-71.692,-71.692) The Cryosphere 15 2 909 925 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 A. F. Banwell R. T. Datta R. L. Dell M. Moussavi L. Brucker G. Picard C. A. Shuman L. A. Stevens The 32-year record-high surface melt in 2019/2020 on the northern George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
In the 2019/2020 austral summer, the surface melt duration and extent on the northern George VI Ice Shelf (GVIIS) was exceptional compared to the 31 previous summers of distinctly lower melt. This finding is based on analysis of near-continuous 41-year satellite microwave radiometer and scatterometer data, which are sensitive to meltwater on the ice shelf surface and in the near-surface snow. Using optical satellite imagery from Landsat 8 (2013 to 2020) and Sentinel-2 (2017 to 2020), record volumes of surface meltwater ponding were also observed on the northern GVIIS in 2019/2020, with 23 % of the surface area covered by 0.62 km 3 of ponded meltwater on 19 January. These exceptional melt and surface ponding conditions in 2019/2020 were driven by sustained air temperatures ≥0 ∘ C for anomalously long periods (55 to 90 h) from late November onwards, which limited meltwater refreezing. The sustained warm periods were likely driven by warm, low-speed ( ≤7.5 m s −1 ) northwesterly and northeasterly winds and not by foehn wind conditions, which were only present for 9 h total in the 2019/2020 melt season. Increased surface ponding on ice shelves may threaten their stability through increased potential for hydrofracture initiation; a risk that may increase due to firn air content depletion in response to near-surface melting. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. F. Banwell R. T. Datta R. L. Dell M. Moussavi L. Brucker G. Picard C. A. Shuman L. A. Stevens |
author_facet |
A. F. Banwell R. T. Datta R. L. Dell M. Moussavi L. Brucker G. Picard C. A. Shuman L. A. Stevens |
author_sort |
A. F. Banwell |
title |
The 32-year record-high surface melt in 2019/2020 on the northern George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_short |
The 32-year record-high surface melt in 2019/2020 on the northern George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full |
The 32-year record-high surface melt in 2019/2020 on the northern George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_fullStr |
The 32-year record-high surface melt in 2019/2020 on the northern George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full_unstemmed |
The 32-year record-high surface melt in 2019/2020 on the northern George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_sort |
32-year record-high surface melt in 2019/2020 on the northern george vi ice shelf, antarctic peninsula |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-909-2021 https://doaj.org/article/69fe458baca24008a5c798ccda13e9f0 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.840,-67.840,-71.692,-71.692) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral George VI Ice Shelf |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral George VI Ice Shelf |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula George VI Ice Shelf Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula George VI Ice Shelf Ice Shelf Ice Shelves The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 15, Pp 909-925 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/909/2021/tc-15-909-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-15-909-2021 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/69fe458baca24008a5c798ccda13e9f0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-909-2021 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
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15 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
909 |
op_container_end_page |
925 |
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1766264626488541184 |