Antarctic surface water intrusion triggering seasonal rapid basal melting of drygalski ice tongue, east Antarctica

• Main Authors: Wang, X., Nicholls, K., Lee, W., Lee, C., Stevens, C., Holland, D.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; Austral; David Glacier; Drygalski; Drygalski Ice Tongue; East Antarctica; Victoria Land; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Shelves
• Online Access: https://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_5017985

Antarctic glaciers are losing ice rapidly to the ocean through basal melting of ice shelves/tongues. To better predicate future sea level rise, it is urgent to detect the rapid basal melting of ice shelves/tongues as well as ocean’s role in this process. In this study, basal melting of Drygalski Ice Tongue (DIT), the seaward extension of David Glacier in Northern Victoria Land, East Antarctica has been detected using a surface deployed Autonomous Phase-sensitive Radio-Echo-Sounder (ApRES). The ocean water changes adjacent to DIT front has been revealed using an ocean mooring. ApRES observation suggests a rapid basal melting > 10 m/a close to DIT front in February and mooring data shows a synchronous ocean warming in austral summer, indicating Antarctica Surface Water intrusion to the base of DIT. The mooring data has been used to simulate the basal melting of DIT front, which coincides with ApRES measurements. We conclude that rapid basal melting close to the tongue front was likely triggered by intrusion of Antarctica Surface Water in austral summer. Glacier-ocean interactions, such as glacier basal melting, can be detected from spaceborne, terrestrial and oceanic observations and are important processes to predict future sea level changes. To better understand the driving forces of glacier changes, multi-disciplinary observation and numerical modeling are required.