Antarctic glacier thinning, 1992-2003
A distinction is often drawn between the ice sheets of East and West Antarctica due to marked differences in their geometry. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) rests on ground that is mostly above sea level, and the overlying ice has been considered stable over long time periods (Alley Whillans, 19...
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ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
2008
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ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:75794 2023-05-15T13:43:40+02:00 Antarctic glacier thinning, 1992-2003 Shepherd, A Wingham, D 2008 http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/75794/ unknown ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD SCOT GEOGR J , 124 (2-3) 154 - 164. (2008) Antarctica mass balance altimetry sea level rise SEA-LEVEL RISE ICE-SHEET MASS-BALANCE EAST ANTARCTICA ACCUMULATION SNOWFALL OCEAN Article 2008 ftucl 2016-01-15T02:01:38Z A distinction is often drawn between the ice sheets of East and West Antarctica due to marked differences in their geometry. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) rests on ground that is mostly above sea level, and the overlying ice has been considered stable over long time periods (Alley Whillans, 1984) because it is relatively isolated from climatic perturbations. In contrast, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) rests on ground that is predominantly below sea level, and its configuration is considered unstable due to the inland-sloping bedrock geometry, a heightened exposure to oceanic perturbations, and the presence of deformable sediments beneath major outlet glaciers (Alley Whillans, 1991). Here, we determine the volume change of Antarctic outlet glaciers between 1992 and 2003 to characterise the ice sheet mass balance. We conclude that only glaciers of a certain geometry-those seated in submarine basins with no substantial ice shelf barrier-are losing mass today. These glaciers are sited in both East and West Antarctica and, because they are susceptible to changes in climate, we anticipate they will provide a substantial contribution to global sea levels over the twenty-first century should ocean warming continue as projected (Gille, 2002). Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf West Antarctica University College London: UCL Discovery Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet East Antarctica West Antarctic Ice Sheet West Antarctica Whillans ENVELOPE(-64.250,-64.250,-84.450,-84.450) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University College London: UCL Discovery |
op_collection_id |
ftucl |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Antarctica mass balance altimetry sea level rise SEA-LEVEL RISE ICE-SHEET MASS-BALANCE EAST ANTARCTICA ACCUMULATION SNOWFALL OCEAN |
spellingShingle |
Antarctica mass balance altimetry sea level rise SEA-LEVEL RISE ICE-SHEET MASS-BALANCE EAST ANTARCTICA ACCUMULATION SNOWFALL OCEAN Shepherd, A Wingham, D Antarctic glacier thinning, 1992-2003 |
topic_facet |
Antarctica mass balance altimetry sea level rise SEA-LEVEL RISE ICE-SHEET MASS-BALANCE EAST ANTARCTICA ACCUMULATION SNOWFALL OCEAN |
description |
A distinction is often drawn between the ice sheets of East and West Antarctica due to marked differences in their geometry. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) rests on ground that is mostly above sea level, and the overlying ice has been considered stable over long time periods (Alley Whillans, 1984) because it is relatively isolated from climatic perturbations. In contrast, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) rests on ground that is predominantly below sea level, and its configuration is considered unstable due to the inland-sloping bedrock geometry, a heightened exposure to oceanic perturbations, and the presence of deformable sediments beneath major outlet glaciers (Alley Whillans, 1991). Here, we determine the volume change of Antarctic outlet glaciers between 1992 and 2003 to characterise the ice sheet mass balance. We conclude that only glaciers of a certain geometry-those seated in submarine basins with no substantial ice shelf barrier-are losing mass today. These glaciers are sited in both East and West Antarctica and, because they are susceptible to changes in climate, we anticipate they will provide a substantial contribution to global sea levels over the twenty-first century should ocean warming continue as projected (Gille, 2002). |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Shepherd, A Wingham, D |
author_facet |
Shepherd, A Wingham, D |
author_sort |
Shepherd, A |
title |
Antarctic glacier thinning, 1992-2003 |
title_short |
Antarctic glacier thinning, 1992-2003 |
title_full |
Antarctic glacier thinning, 1992-2003 |
title_fullStr |
Antarctic glacier thinning, 1992-2003 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Antarctic glacier thinning, 1992-2003 |
title_sort |
antarctic glacier thinning, 1992-2003 |
publisher |
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/75794/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-64.250,-64.250,-84.450,-84.450) |
geographic |
Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet East Antarctica West Antarctic Ice Sheet West Antarctica Whillans |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet East Antarctica West Antarctic Ice Sheet West Antarctica Whillans |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf West Antarctica |
op_source |
SCOT GEOGR J , 124 (2-3) 154 - 164. (2008) |
_version_ |
1766191657885106176 |