Evolution of supraglacial lakes on the Larsen B ice shelf in the decades before it collapsed
The Larsen B ice shelf collapsed in 2002 losing an area twice the size of Greater London to the sea (3,000 km 2), in an event associated with widespread supraglacial lake drainage. Here we use optical and radar satellite imagery to investigate the evolution of the ice shelf's lakes in the decad...
Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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Language: | English |
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Online Access: | https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/141206/ https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/141206/1/Leeson_et_al_2020_Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085591 |
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ftulancaster:oai:eprints.lancs.ac.uk:141206 2023-08-27T04:10:04+02:00 Evolution of supraglacial lakes on the Larsen B ice shelf in the decades before it collapsed Leeson, A.A. Forster, E. Rice, A. Gourmelen, N. Wessem, J.M. 2020-02-28 text https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/141206/ https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/141206/1/Leeson_et_al_2020_Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085591 en eng https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/141206/1/Leeson_et_al_2020_Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf Leeson, A.A. and Forster, E. and Rice, A. and Gourmelen, N. and Wessem, J.M. (2020) Evolution of supraglacial lakes on the Larsen B ice shelf in the decades before it collapsed. Geophysical Research Letters, 47 (4). ISSN 0094-8276 creative_commons_attribution_noncommercial_4_0_international_license Journal Article PeerReviewed 2020 ftulancaster https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085591 2023-08-03T22:37:40Z The Larsen B ice shelf collapsed in 2002 losing an area twice the size of Greater London to the sea (3,000 km 2), in an event associated with widespread supraglacial lake drainage. Here we use optical and radar satellite imagery to investigate the evolution of the ice shelf's lakes in the decades preceding collapse. We find (1) that lakes spread southward in the preceding decades at a rate commensurate with meltwater saturation of the shelf surface; (2) no trend in lake size, suggesting an active supraglacial drainage network which evacuated excess water off the shelf; and (3) lakes mostly refreeze in winter but the few lakes that do drain are associated with ice breakup 2–4 years later. Given the relative scale of lake drainage and shelf breakup, however, it is not clear from our data whether lake drainage is more likely a cause, or an effect, of ice shelf collapse. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Shelf Lancaster University: Lancaster Eprints Geophysical Research Letters 47 4 |
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Open Polar |
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Lancaster University: Lancaster Eprints |
op_collection_id |
ftulancaster |
language |
English |
description |
The Larsen B ice shelf collapsed in 2002 losing an area twice the size of Greater London to the sea (3,000 km 2), in an event associated with widespread supraglacial lake drainage. Here we use optical and radar satellite imagery to investigate the evolution of the ice shelf's lakes in the decades preceding collapse. We find (1) that lakes spread southward in the preceding decades at a rate commensurate with meltwater saturation of the shelf surface; (2) no trend in lake size, suggesting an active supraglacial drainage network which evacuated excess water off the shelf; and (3) lakes mostly refreeze in winter but the few lakes that do drain are associated with ice breakup 2–4 years later. Given the relative scale of lake drainage and shelf breakup, however, it is not clear from our data whether lake drainage is more likely a cause, or an effect, of ice shelf collapse. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Leeson, A.A. Forster, E. Rice, A. Gourmelen, N. Wessem, J.M. |
spellingShingle |
Leeson, A.A. Forster, E. Rice, A. Gourmelen, N. Wessem, J.M. Evolution of supraglacial lakes on the Larsen B ice shelf in the decades before it collapsed |
author_facet |
Leeson, A.A. Forster, E. Rice, A. Gourmelen, N. Wessem, J.M. |
author_sort |
Leeson, A.A. |
title |
Evolution of supraglacial lakes on the Larsen B ice shelf in the decades before it collapsed |
title_short |
Evolution of supraglacial lakes on the Larsen B ice shelf in the decades before it collapsed |
title_full |
Evolution of supraglacial lakes on the Larsen B ice shelf in the decades before it collapsed |
title_fullStr |
Evolution of supraglacial lakes on the Larsen B ice shelf in the decades before it collapsed |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evolution of supraglacial lakes on the Larsen B ice shelf in the decades before it collapsed |
title_sort |
evolution of supraglacial lakes on the larsen b ice shelf in the decades before it collapsed |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/141206/ https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/141206/1/Leeson_et_al_2020_Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085591 |
genre |
Ice Shelf |
genre_facet |
Ice Shelf |
op_relation |
https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/141206/1/Leeson_et_al_2020_Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf Leeson, A.A. and Forster, E. and Rice, A. and Gourmelen, N. and Wessem, J.M. (2020) Evolution of supraglacial lakes on the Larsen B ice shelf in the decades before it collapsed. Geophysical Research Letters, 47 (4). ISSN 0094-8276 |
op_rights |
creative_commons_attribution_noncommercial_4_0_international_license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085591 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
47 |
container_issue |
4 |
_version_ |
1775351822439940096 |