The nature of ice intermittently accreted at the base of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, assessed using phase‐sensitive radar
In-situ phase-sensitive radar measurements from the Ronne Ice Shelf (RIS) reveal evidence of intermittent basal accretion periods at several sites that are melting in the long-term mean. Periods when ice is accreted at the ice-shelf base coincide with a decrease in the amplitude of the basal return...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
American Geophysical Union
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531099/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531099/1/2021JC017290.pdf https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JC017290 |
id |
ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:531099 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:531099 2023-05-15T13:41:46+02:00 The nature of ice intermittently accreted at the base of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, assessed using phase‐sensitive radar Vaňková, Irena Nicholls, Keith W. Corr, Hugh F.J. 2021-10-21 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531099/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531099/1/2021JC017290.pdf https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JC017290 en eng American Geophysical Union https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531099/1/2021JC017290.pdf Vaňková, Irena orcid:0000-0003-4351-3781 Nicholls, Keith W. orcid:0000-0002-2188-4509 Corr, Hugh F.J. 2021 The nature of ice intermittently accreted at the base of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, assessed using phase‐sensitive radar. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126 (10), e2021JC017290. 23, pp. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JC017290 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JC017290> cc_by_4 CC-BY Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2021 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JC017290 2023-02-04T19:52:36Z In-situ phase-sensitive radar measurements from the Ronne Ice Shelf (RIS) reveal evidence of intermittent basal accretion periods at several sites that are melting in the long-term mean. Periods when ice is accreted at the ice-shelf base coincide with a decrease in the amplitude of the basal return of up to 4 dB. To quantify basal accretion we constrain simultaneously the dielectric constant, electrical conductivity, and thickness of the accreted ice. We do this by exploring the sensitivity of the received basal echo strength and phase to different transmit frequencies using the radar data in combination with a simple model. Along the western RIS we detect episodic basal accretion events leading to ice accumulation at a rate equivalent to 1-3 mm of meteoric ice per day. The inferred accumulation rates and electromagnetic properties of the accreted ice imply that these events are caused primarily by the deposition of frazil ice crystals. Our findings offer the possibility of monitoring and studying the evolution of boundaries between ice-shelf basal melting and accretion regimes using remote observations, collected from the ice-shelf surface. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ronne Ice Shelf Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Ronne Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(-61.000,-61.000,-78.500,-78.500) Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 126 10 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
In-situ phase-sensitive radar measurements from the Ronne Ice Shelf (RIS) reveal evidence of intermittent basal accretion periods at several sites that are melting in the long-term mean. Periods when ice is accreted at the ice-shelf base coincide with a decrease in the amplitude of the basal return of up to 4 dB. To quantify basal accretion we constrain simultaneously the dielectric constant, electrical conductivity, and thickness of the accreted ice. We do this by exploring the sensitivity of the received basal echo strength and phase to different transmit frequencies using the radar data in combination with a simple model. Along the western RIS we detect episodic basal accretion events leading to ice accumulation at a rate equivalent to 1-3 mm of meteoric ice per day. The inferred accumulation rates and electromagnetic properties of the accreted ice imply that these events are caused primarily by the deposition of frazil ice crystals. Our findings offer the possibility of monitoring and studying the evolution of boundaries between ice-shelf basal melting and accretion regimes using remote observations, collected from the ice-shelf surface. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Vaňková, Irena Nicholls, Keith W. Corr, Hugh F.J. |
spellingShingle |
Vaňková, Irena Nicholls, Keith W. Corr, Hugh F.J. The nature of ice intermittently accreted at the base of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, assessed using phase‐sensitive radar |
author_facet |
Vaňková, Irena Nicholls, Keith W. Corr, Hugh F.J. |
author_sort |
Vaňková, Irena |
title |
The nature of ice intermittently accreted at the base of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, assessed using phase‐sensitive radar |
title_short |
The nature of ice intermittently accreted at the base of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, assessed using phase‐sensitive radar |
title_full |
The nature of ice intermittently accreted at the base of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, assessed using phase‐sensitive radar |
title_fullStr |
The nature of ice intermittently accreted at the base of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, assessed using phase‐sensitive radar |
title_full_unstemmed |
The nature of ice intermittently accreted at the base of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, assessed using phase‐sensitive radar |
title_sort |
nature of ice intermittently accreted at the base of ronne ice shelf, antarctica, assessed using phase‐sensitive radar |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531099/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531099/1/2021JC017290.pdf https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JC017290 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-61.000,-61.000,-78.500,-78.500) |
geographic |
Ronne Ice Shelf |
geographic_facet |
Ronne Ice Shelf |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ronne Ice Shelf |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf Ronne Ice Shelf |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531099/1/2021JC017290.pdf Vaňková, Irena orcid:0000-0003-4351-3781 Nicholls, Keith W. orcid:0000-0002-2188-4509 Corr, Hugh F.J. 2021 The nature of ice intermittently accreted at the base of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, assessed using phase‐sensitive radar. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126 (10), e2021JC017290. 23, pp. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JC017290 <https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JC017290> |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JC017290 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |
container_volume |
126 |
container_issue |
10 |
_version_ |
1766157595891990528 |