Rapid subglacial erosion beneath Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica

We present measurements of ice thickness, gravimetry and surface elevation on Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, separated by a period of 49 years. At one station, on the main trunk of the glacier we measured a surface elevation lowering with no significant change in ice thickness. We interpret t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Smith, A.M., Bentley, C.R., Bingham, R.G., Jordan, T.A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Geophysical Union 2012
Subjects:
Glaciology
West Antarctica
Pine Island Glacier
Antarc*
Antarctica
Ice Sheet
Pine Island
Online Access:http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/18799/
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/18799/1/2012GL051651.pdf
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2012GL051651
Description
Summary:We present measurements of ice thickness, gravimetry and surface elevation on Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, separated by a period of 49 years. At one station, on the main trunk of the glacier we measured a surface elevation lowering with no significant change in ice thickness. We interpret these as indicating subglacial erosion of 31.8 ± 13.4 m at this location, at a mean rate over the measurement period of 0.6 ± 0.3 m a−1, and suggest that a current erosion rate of ∼1 m a−1is possible. Our results emphasize that locally, basal processes can have a significant effect on ice sheet changes, particularly where fast-flowing ice has an easily erodible bed.

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