Basal conditions for Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data
We use models constrained by remotely sensed data from Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, to infer basal properties that are difficult to observe directly. The results indicate strong basal melting in areas upstream of the grounding lines of both glaciers, where the ice flow is fast...
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International Glaciological Society
2009
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:11087 2023-05-15T13:45:10+02:00 Basal conditions for Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data Joughin, Ian Tulaczyk, Slawek Bamber, Jonathan L. Blankenship, Don Holt, John W. Scambos, Ted Vaughan, David G. 2009 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11087/ unknown International Glaciological Society Joughin, Ian; Tulaczyk, Slawek; Bamber, Jonathan L.; Blankenship, Don; Holt, John W.; Scambos, Ted; Vaughan, David G. orcid:0000-0002-9065-0570 . 2009 Basal conditions for Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data. Journal of Glaciology, 55 (190). 245-257. https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309788608705 <https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309788608705> Glaciology Earth Sciences Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2009 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309788608705 2023-02-04T19:27:08Z We use models constrained by remotely sensed data from Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, to infer basal properties that are difficult to observe directly. The results indicate strong basal melting in areas upstream of the grounding lines of both glaciers, where the ice flow is fast and the basal shear stress is large. Farther inland, we find that both glaciers have 'mixed' bed conditions, with extensive areas of both bedrock and weak till. In particular, there are weak areas along much of Pine Island Glacier's main trunk that could prove unstable if it retreats past the band of strong bed just above its current grounding line. in agreement with earlier studies, our forward ice-stream model shows a strong sensitivity to small perturbations in the grounding line position. These results also reveal a large sensitivity to the assumed bed (sliding or deforming) model, with non-linear sliding laws producing substantially greater dynamic response than earlier simulations that assume a linear-viscous till rheology. Finally, comparison indicates that our results using a plastic bed are compatible with the limited observational constraints and theoretical work that suggests an upper bound exists on maximum basal shear stress. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology Pine Island West Antarctica Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive West Antarctica Journal of Glaciology 55 190 245 257 |
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Open Polar |
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Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
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unknown |
topic |
Glaciology Earth Sciences |
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Glaciology Earth Sciences Joughin, Ian Tulaczyk, Slawek Bamber, Jonathan L. Blankenship, Don Holt, John W. Scambos, Ted Vaughan, David G. Basal conditions for Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data |
topic_facet |
Glaciology Earth Sciences |
description |
We use models constrained by remotely sensed data from Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, to infer basal properties that are difficult to observe directly. The results indicate strong basal melting in areas upstream of the grounding lines of both glaciers, where the ice flow is fast and the basal shear stress is large. Farther inland, we find that both glaciers have 'mixed' bed conditions, with extensive areas of both bedrock and weak till. In particular, there are weak areas along much of Pine Island Glacier's main trunk that could prove unstable if it retreats past the band of strong bed just above its current grounding line. in agreement with earlier studies, our forward ice-stream model shows a strong sensitivity to small perturbations in the grounding line position. These results also reveal a large sensitivity to the assumed bed (sliding or deforming) model, with non-linear sliding laws producing substantially greater dynamic response than earlier simulations that assume a linear-viscous till rheology. Finally, comparison indicates that our results using a plastic bed are compatible with the limited observational constraints and theoretical work that suggests an upper bound exists on maximum basal shear stress. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Joughin, Ian Tulaczyk, Slawek Bamber, Jonathan L. Blankenship, Don Holt, John W. Scambos, Ted Vaughan, David G. |
author_facet |
Joughin, Ian Tulaczyk, Slawek Bamber, Jonathan L. Blankenship, Don Holt, John W. Scambos, Ted Vaughan, David G. |
author_sort |
Joughin, Ian |
title |
Basal conditions for Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data |
title_short |
Basal conditions for Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data |
title_full |
Basal conditions for Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data |
title_fullStr |
Basal conditions for Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data |
title_full_unstemmed |
Basal conditions for Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data |
title_sort |
basal conditions for pine island and thwaites glaciers, west antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data |
publisher |
International Glaciological Society |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/11087/ |
geographic |
West Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
West Antarctica |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology Pine Island West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology Pine Island West Antarctica |
op_relation |
Joughin, Ian; Tulaczyk, Slawek; Bamber, Jonathan L.; Blankenship, Don; Holt, John W.; Scambos, Ted; Vaughan, David G. orcid:0000-0002-9065-0570 . 2009 Basal conditions for Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data. Journal of Glaciology, 55 (190). 245-257. https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309788608705 <https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309788608705> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309788608705 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
55 |
container_issue |
190 |
container_start_page |
245 |
op_container_end_page |
257 |
_version_ |
1766214380523880448 |