Seasonal land-ice-flow variability in the Antarctic Peninsula
Recent satellite-remote sensing studies have documented the multi-decadal acceleration of the Antarctic Ice Sheet in response to rapid rates of ice-sheet retreat and thinning. Unlike the Greenland Ice Sheet, where historical, high-temporal-resolution satellite and in situ observations have revealed...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3907-2022 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/3907/2022/tc-16-3907-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/article/4b8b7f20ea3045119ca7dcb4dd62139e |
id |
fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:4b8b7f20ea3045119ca7dcb4dd62139e |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:4b8b7f20ea3045119ca7dcb4dd62139e 2023-05-15T14:00:03+02:00 Seasonal land-ice-flow variability in the Antarctic Peninsula K. Boxall F. D. W. Christie I. C. Willis J. Wuite T. Nagler 2022-10-01 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3907-2022 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/3907/2022/tc-16-3907-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/article/4b8b7f20ea3045119ca7dcb4dd62139e en eng Copernicus Publications doi:10.5194/tc-16-3907-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/3907/2022/tc-16-3907-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/article/4b8b7f20ea3045119ca7dcb4dd62139e undefined The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 3907-3932 (2022) geo envir Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2022 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3907-2022 2023-01-22T19:29:10Z Recent satellite-remote sensing studies have documented the multi-decadal acceleration of the Antarctic Ice Sheet in response to rapid rates of ice-sheet retreat and thinning. Unlike the Greenland Ice Sheet, where historical, high-temporal-resolution satellite and in situ observations have revealed distinct changes in land-ice flow within intra-annual timescales, observations of similar seasonal signals are limited in Antarctica. Here, we use high-spatial- and high-temporal-resolution Copernicus Sentinel-1A/B synthetic aperture radar observations acquired between 2014 and 2020 to provide the first evidence for seasonal flow variability of the land ice feeding George VI Ice Shelf (GVIIS), Antarctic Peninsula. Our observations reveal a distinct austral summertime (December–February) speed-up of ∼0.06±0.005 m d−1 (∼ 22±1.8 m yr−1) at, and immediately inland of, the grounding line of the glaciers nourishing the ice shelf, which constitutes a mean acceleration of ∼15 % relative to baseline (time-series-averaged) rates of flow. These findings are corroborated by independent, optically derived velocity observations obtained from Landsat 8 imagery. Both surface and oceanic forcing mechanisms are outlined as potential controls on this seasonality. Ultimately, our findings imply that similar surface and/or ocean forcing mechanisms may be driving seasonal accelerations at the grounding lines of other vulnerable outlet glaciers around Antarctica. Assessing the degree of seasonal ice-flow variability at such locations is important for quantifying accurately Antarctica's future contribution to global sea-level rise. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica George VI Ice Shelf Greenland Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Unknown Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral George VI Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(-67.840,-67.840,-71.692,-71.692) Greenland The Antarctic The Cryosphere 16 10 3907 3932 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
English |
topic |
geo envir |
spellingShingle |
geo envir K. Boxall F. D. W. Christie I. C. Willis J. Wuite T. Nagler Seasonal land-ice-flow variability in the Antarctic Peninsula |
topic_facet |
geo envir |
description |
Recent satellite-remote sensing studies have documented the multi-decadal acceleration of the Antarctic Ice Sheet in response to rapid rates of ice-sheet retreat and thinning. Unlike the Greenland Ice Sheet, where historical, high-temporal-resolution satellite and in situ observations have revealed distinct changes in land-ice flow within intra-annual timescales, observations of similar seasonal signals are limited in Antarctica. Here, we use high-spatial- and high-temporal-resolution Copernicus Sentinel-1A/B synthetic aperture radar observations acquired between 2014 and 2020 to provide the first evidence for seasonal flow variability of the land ice feeding George VI Ice Shelf (GVIIS), Antarctic Peninsula. Our observations reveal a distinct austral summertime (December–February) speed-up of ∼0.06±0.005 m d−1 (∼ 22±1.8 m yr−1) at, and immediately inland of, the grounding line of the glaciers nourishing the ice shelf, which constitutes a mean acceleration of ∼15 % relative to baseline (time-series-averaged) rates of flow. These findings are corroborated by independent, optically derived velocity observations obtained from Landsat 8 imagery. Both surface and oceanic forcing mechanisms are outlined as potential controls on this seasonality. Ultimately, our findings imply that similar surface and/or ocean forcing mechanisms may be driving seasonal accelerations at the grounding lines of other vulnerable outlet glaciers around Antarctica. Assessing the degree of seasonal ice-flow variability at such locations is important for quantifying accurately Antarctica's future contribution to global sea-level rise. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
K. Boxall F. D. W. Christie I. C. Willis J. Wuite T. Nagler |
author_facet |
K. Boxall F. D. W. Christie I. C. Willis J. Wuite T. Nagler |
author_sort |
K. Boxall |
title |
Seasonal land-ice-flow variability in the Antarctic Peninsula |
title_short |
Seasonal land-ice-flow variability in the Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full |
Seasonal land-ice-flow variability in the Antarctic Peninsula |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal land-ice-flow variability in the Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal land-ice-flow variability in the Antarctic Peninsula |
title_sort |
seasonal land-ice-flow variability in the antarctic peninsula |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3907-2022 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/3907/2022/tc-16-3907-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/article/4b8b7f20ea3045119ca7dcb4dd62139e |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.840,-67.840,-71.692,-71.692) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral George VI Ice Shelf Greenland The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral George VI Ice Shelf Greenland The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica George VI Ice Shelf Greenland Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica George VI Ice Shelf Greenland Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 3907-3932 (2022) |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-16-3907-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/3907/2022/tc-16-3907-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/article/4b8b7f20ea3045119ca7dcb4dd62139e |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3907-2022 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
3907 |
op_container_end_page |
3932 |
_version_ |
1766269026208579584 |