Inland thinning of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica

• Main Authors: Shepherd, A, Wingham, DJ, Mansley, JAD, Corr, HFJ
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE 2001
• Subjects: ICE-SHEET; EAST ANTARCTICA; STREAM; SEA; Antarctic; East Antarctica; Pine Island Glacier; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; West Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet; Pine Island
• Online Access: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/8916/

The Pine island Glacier (PIG) transports 69 cubic kilometers of ice each year from similar to 10% of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). It is possible that a retreat of the PIG may accelerate ice discharge from the WAIS interior. Satellite altimetry and interferometry show that the grounded PIG thinned by up to 1.6 meters per year between 1992 and 1999, affecting 150 kilometers of the inland glacier. The thinning cannot be explained by short-term variability in accumulation and must result from glacier dynamics.