Brief communication: Measuring and modelling the ice thickness of the Grigoriev ice cap (Kyrgyzstan) and comparison with global datasets

• Main Authors: Van Tricht, Lander, Paice, Chloë Marie, Rybak, Oleg, Huybrechts, Philippe
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2023
• Subjects: article; Verlagsveröffentlichung; Ice cap
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-473; https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00065981; https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00064485/egusphere-2023-473.pdf; https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-473/egusphere-2023-473.pdf

An accurate ice thickness distribution is crucial for correct projections of the future state of an ice mass. However, measuring the ice thickness with an in-situ system is time-consuming and not scalable. Therefore, models have been developed that estimate the ice thickness without direct measurements. In this study, we reconstruct the ice thickness of the Grigoriev ice cap, Kyrgyzstan, from in-situ observations and the yield stress method. We compare the results with data from 6 global ice thickness datasets composed without the use of our local measurements. The results highlight shortcomings of these generic datasets and demonstrate the importance of local observations for accurate representations of the ice thickness.