Application of a two-step approach for mapping ice thickness to various glacier types on Svalbard
The basal topography is largely unknown beneath most glaciers and ice caps, and many attempts have been made to estimate a thickness field from other more accessible information at the surface. Here, we present a two-step reconstruction approach for ice thickness that solves mass conservation over s...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2003-2017 https://doaj.org/article/6ee4e9d1c634478d9a9c326758ca71fd |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6ee4e9d1c634478d9a9c326758ca71fd 2023-05-15T16:22:15+02:00 Application of a two-step approach for mapping ice thickness to various glacier types on Svalbard J. J. Fürst F. Gillet-Chaulet T. J. Benham J. A. Dowdeswell M. Grabiec F. Navarro R. Pettersson G. Moholdt C. Nuth B. Sass K. Aas X. Fettweis C. Lang T. Seehaus M. Braun 2017-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2003-2017 https://doaj.org/article/6ee4e9d1c634478d9a9c326758ca71fd EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.the-cryosphere.net/11/2003/2017/tc-11-2003-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-11-2003-2017 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/6ee4e9d1c634478d9a9c326758ca71fd The Cryosphere, Vol 11, Pp 2003-2032 (2017) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2003-2017 2022-12-30T22:34:31Z The basal topography is largely unknown beneath most glaciers and ice caps, and many attempts have been made to estimate a thickness field from other more accessible information at the surface. Here, we present a two-step reconstruction approach for ice thickness that solves mass conservation over single or several connected drainage basins. The approach is applied to a variety of test geometries with abundant thickness measurements including marine- and land-terminating glaciers as well as a 2400 km 2 ice cap on Svalbard. The input requirements are kept to a minimum for the first step. In this step, a geometrically controlled, non-local flux solution is converted into thickness values relying on the shallow ice approximation (SIA). In a second step, the thickness field is updated along fast-flowing glacier trunks on the basis of velocity observations. Both steps account for available thickness measurements. Each thickness field is presented together with an error-estimate map based on a formal propagation of input uncertainties. These error estimates point out that the thickness field is least constrained near ice divides or in other stagnant areas. Withholding a share of the thickness measurements, error estimates tend to overestimate mismatch values in a median sense. We also have to accept an aggregate uncertainty of at least 25 % in the reconstructed thickness field for glaciers with very sparse or no observations. For Vestfonna ice cap (VIC), a previous ice volume estimate based on the same measurement record as used here has to be corrected upward by 22 %. We also find that a 13 % area fraction of the ice cap is in fact grounded below sea level. The former 5 % estimate from a direct measurement interpolation exceeds an aggregate maximum range of 6–23 % as inferred from the error estimates here. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Ice cap Svalbard The Cryosphere Vestfonna Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Svalbard Vestfonna ENVELOPE(20.761,20.761,79.941,79.941) The Cryosphere 11 5 2003 2032 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
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 J. J. Fürst F. Gillet-Chaulet T. J. Benham J. A. Dowdeswell M. Grabiec F. Navarro R. Pettersson G. Moholdt C. Nuth B. Sass K. Aas X. Fettweis C. Lang T. Seehaus M. Braun Application of a two-step approach for mapping ice thickness to various glacier types on Svalbard |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The basal topography is largely unknown beneath most glaciers and ice caps, and many attempts have been made to estimate a thickness field from other more accessible information at the surface. Here, we present a two-step reconstruction approach for ice thickness that solves mass conservation over single or several connected drainage basins. The approach is applied to a variety of test geometries with abundant thickness measurements including marine- and land-terminating glaciers as well as a 2400 km 2 ice cap on Svalbard. The input requirements are kept to a minimum for the first step. In this step, a geometrically controlled, non-local flux solution is converted into thickness values relying on the shallow ice approximation (SIA). In a second step, the thickness field is updated along fast-flowing glacier trunks on the basis of velocity observations. Both steps account for available thickness measurements. Each thickness field is presented together with an error-estimate map based on a formal propagation of input uncertainties. These error estimates point out that the thickness field is least constrained near ice divides or in other stagnant areas. Withholding a share of the thickness measurements, error estimates tend to overestimate mismatch values in a median sense. We also have to accept an aggregate uncertainty of at least 25 % in the reconstructed thickness field for glaciers with very sparse or no observations. For Vestfonna ice cap (VIC), a previous ice volume estimate based on the same measurement record as used here has to be corrected upward by 22 %. We also find that a 13 % area fraction of the ice cap is in fact grounded below sea level. The former 5 % estimate from a direct measurement interpolation exceeds an aggregate maximum range of 6–23 % as inferred from the error estimates here. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. J. Fürst F. Gillet-Chaulet T. J. Benham J. A. Dowdeswell M. Grabiec F. Navarro R. Pettersson G. Moholdt C. Nuth B. Sass K. Aas X. Fettweis C. Lang T. Seehaus M. Braun |
author_facet |
J. J. Fürst F. Gillet-Chaulet T. J. Benham J. A. Dowdeswell M. Grabiec F. Navarro R. Pettersson G. Moholdt C. Nuth B. Sass K. Aas X. Fettweis C. Lang T. Seehaus M. Braun |
author_sort |
J. J. Fürst |
title |
Application of a two-step approach for mapping ice thickness to various glacier types on Svalbard |
title_short |
Application of a two-step approach for mapping ice thickness to various glacier types on Svalbard |
title_full |
Application of a two-step approach for mapping ice thickness to various glacier types on Svalbard |
title_fullStr |
Application of a two-step approach for mapping ice thickness to various glacier types on Svalbard |
title_full_unstemmed |
Application of a two-step approach for mapping ice thickness to various glacier types on Svalbard |
title_sort |
application of a two-step approach for mapping ice thickness to various glacier types on svalbard |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2003-2017 https://doaj.org/article/6ee4e9d1c634478d9a9c326758ca71fd |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(20.761,20.761,79.941,79.941) |
geographic |
Svalbard Vestfonna |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard Vestfonna |
genre |
glacier Ice cap Svalbard The Cryosphere Vestfonna |
genre_facet |
glacier Ice cap Svalbard The Cryosphere Vestfonna |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 11, Pp 2003-2032 (2017) |
op_relation |
https://www.the-cryosphere.net/11/2003/2017/tc-11-2003-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-11-2003-2017 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/6ee4e9d1c634478d9a9c326758ca71fd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2003-2017 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
2003 |
op_container_end_page |
2032 |
_version_ |
1766010220799066112 |