Mass changes of the northern Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet derived from repeat bi-static synthetic aperture radar acquisitions for the period 2013–2017

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: T. Seehaus, C. Sommer, T. Dethinne, P. Malz
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2023
• Subjects: Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Geology; QE1-996.5; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Austral; Fleming Glacier; Prince Gustav Channel; The Antarctic; Wordie; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4629-2023; https://doaj.org/article/967e265326484991b811db90f7937e1e

Some of the highest specific mass change rates in Antarctica are reported for the Antarctic Peninsula. However, the existing estimates for the northern Antarctic Peninsula ( <70 ∘ S) are either spatially limited or are affected by considerable uncertainties. The complex topography, frequent cloud cover, limitations in ice thickness information, boundary effects, and uncertain glacial–isostatic adjustment estimates affect the ice sheet mass change estimates using altimetry, gravimetry, or the input-output method. Within this study, the first assessment of the geodetic mass balance throughout the ice sheet of the northern Antarctic Peninsula is carried out employing bi-static synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from the TanDEM-X satellite mission. Repeat coverages from the austral winters of 2013 and 2017 are employed. Overall, coverage of 96.4 % of the study area by surface elevation change measurements and a total mass budget of - 24.1 ± 2.8 <svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="58pt" height="10pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="3db16c0a953d98b866947d147ebdb7fc"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="tc-17-4629-2023-ie00001.svg" width="58pt" height="10pt" src="tc-17-4629-2023-ie00001.png"/></svg:svg> Gt a −1 are revealed. The spatial distribution of the surface elevation and mass changes points out that the former ice shelf tributary glaciers of the Prince Gustav Channel, Larsen A and B, and Wordie ice shelves are the hotspots of ice loss in the study area and highlights the long-lasting dynamic glacier adjustments after the ice shelf break-up events. The highest mass change rate is revealed for the Airy–Seller–Fleming glacier system at - 4.9 ± 0.6 <svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="52pt" height="10pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="f9aaed9b17a621f3881ebff8c6239a6b"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="tc-17-4629-2023-ie00002.svg" width="52pt" height="10pt" ...