Distribution and seasonal evolution of supraglacial lakes on Shackleton Ice Shelf, East Antarctica.
Supraglacial lakes (SGLs) enhance surface melting and can flex and fracture ice shelves when they grow and subsequently drain, potentially leading to ice shelf disintegration. However, the seasonal evolution of SGLs and their influence on ice shelf stability in East Antarctica remains poorly underst...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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Copernicus Publications
2020
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Online Access: | http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/ http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/1/32086.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/2/32086.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/3/32086S.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/4/32086C.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4103-2020 |
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ftunivdurham:oai:dro.dur.ac.uk.OAI2:32086 2023-05-15T13:37:59+02:00 Distribution and seasonal evolution of supraglacial lakes on Shackleton Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. Arthur, J.F. Stokes, C.R. Jamieson, S.S.R. Carr, J.R. Leeson, A.A. 2020 application/pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/ http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/1/32086.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/2/32086.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/3/32086S.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/4/32086C.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4103-2020 unknown Copernicus Publications dro:32086 issn:1994-0416 issn: 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-14-4103-2020 http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/ https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4103-2020 http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/1/32086.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/2/32086.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/3/32086S.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/4/32086C.pdf © Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. CC-BY The cryosphere, 2020, Vol.14(11), pp.4103-4120 [Peer Reviewed Journal] Article PeerReviewed 2020 ftunivdurham https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4103-2020 2021-01-21T23:23:12Z Supraglacial lakes (SGLs) enhance surface melting and can flex and fracture ice shelves when they grow and subsequently drain, potentially leading to ice shelf disintegration. However, the seasonal evolution of SGLs and their influence on ice shelf stability in East Antarctica remains poorly understood, despite some potentially vulnerable ice shelves having high densities of SGLs. Using optical satellite imagery, air temperature data from climate reanalysis products and surface melt predicted by a regional climate model, we present the first long-term record (2000–2020) of seasonal SGL evolution on Shackleton Ice Shelf, which is Antarctica's northernmost remaining ice shelf and buttresses Denman Glacier, a major outlet of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. In a typical melt season, we find hundreds of SGLs with a mean area of 0.02 km2, a mean depth of 0.96 m and a mean total meltwater volume of 7.45×106 m3. At their most extensive, SGLs cover a cumulative area of 50.7 km2 and are clustered near to the grounding line, where densities approach 0.27 km2 km−2. Here, SGL development is linked to an albedo-lowering feedback associated with katabatic winds, together with the presence of blue ice and exposed rock. Although below-average seasonal (December–January–February, DJF) temperatures are associated with below-average peaks in total SGL area and volume, warmer seasonal temperatures do not necessarily result in higher SGL areas and volumes. Rather, peaks in total SGL area and volume show a much closer correspondence with short-lived high-magnitude snowmelt events. We therefore suggest seasonal lake evolution on this ice shelf is instead more sensitive to snowmelt intensity associated with katabatic-wind-driven melting. Our analysis provides important constraints on the boundary conditions of supraglacial hydrology models and numerical simulations of ice shelf stability. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Denman Glacier East Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Shackleton Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Durham University: Durham Research Online Antarctic Denman Glacier ENVELOPE(99.417,99.417,-66.750,-66.750) East Antarctic Ice Sheet East Antarctica Shackleton Shackleton Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(100.504,100.504,-65.996,-65.996) The Cryosphere 14 11 4103 4120 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Durham University: Durham Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftunivdurham |
language |
unknown |
description |
Supraglacial lakes (SGLs) enhance surface melting and can flex and fracture ice shelves when they grow and subsequently drain, potentially leading to ice shelf disintegration. However, the seasonal evolution of SGLs and their influence on ice shelf stability in East Antarctica remains poorly understood, despite some potentially vulnerable ice shelves having high densities of SGLs. Using optical satellite imagery, air temperature data from climate reanalysis products and surface melt predicted by a regional climate model, we present the first long-term record (2000–2020) of seasonal SGL evolution on Shackleton Ice Shelf, which is Antarctica's northernmost remaining ice shelf and buttresses Denman Glacier, a major outlet of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. In a typical melt season, we find hundreds of SGLs with a mean area of 0.02 km2, a mean depth of 0.96 m and a mean total meltwater volume of 7.45×106 m3. At their most extensive, SGLs cover a cumulative area of 50.7 km2 and are clustered near to the grounding line, where densities approach 0.27 km2 km−2. Here, SGL development is linked to an albedo-lowering feedback associated with katabatic winds, together with the presence of blue ice and exposed rock. Although below-average seasonal (December–January–February, DJF) temperatures are associated with below-average peaks in total SGL area and volume, warmer seasonal temperatures do not necessarily result in higher SGL areas and volumes. Rather, peaks in total SGL area and volume show a much closer correspondence with short-lived high-magnitude snowmelt events. We therefore suggest seasonal lake evolution on this ice shelf is instead more sensitive to snowmelt intensity associated with katabatic-wind-driven melting. Our analysis provides important constraints on the boundary conditions of supraglacial hydrology models and numerical simulations of ice shelf stability. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Arthur, J.F. Stokes, C.R. Jamieson, S.S.R. Carr, J.R. Leeson, A.A. |
spellingShingle |
Arthur, J.F. Stokes, C.R. Jamieson, S.S.R. Carr, J.R. Leeson, A.A. Distribution and seasonal evolution of supraglacial lakes on Shackleton Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. |
author_facet |
Arthur, J.F. Stokes, C.R. Jamieson, S.S.R. Carr, J.R. Leeson, A.A. |
author_sort |
Arthur, J.F. |
title |
Distribution and seasonal evolution of supraglacial lakes on Shackleton Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. |
title_short |
Distribution and seasonal evolution of supraglacial lakes on Shackleton Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. |
title_full |
Distribution and seasonal evolution of supraglacial lakes on Shackleton Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. |
title_fullStr |
Distribution and seasonal evolution of supraglacial lakes on Shackleton Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Distribution and seasonal evolution of supraglacial lakes on Shackleton Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. |
title_sort |
distribution and seasonal evolution of supraglacial lakes on shackleton ice shelf, east antarctica. |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/ http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/1/32086.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/2/32086.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/3/32086S.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/4/32086C.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4103-2020 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(99.417,99.417,-66.750,-66.750) ENVELOPE(100.504,100.504,-65.996,-65.996) |
geographic |
Antarctic Denman Glacier East Antarctic Ice Sheet East Antarctica Shackleton Shackleton Ice Shelf |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Denman Glacier East Antarctic Ice Sheet East Antarctica Shackleton Shackleton Ice Shelf |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Denman Glacier East Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Shackleton Ice Shelf The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Denman Glacier East Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf Ice Shelves Shackleton Ice Shelf The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The cryosphere, 2020, Vol.14(11), pp.4103-4120 [Peer Reviewed Journal] |
op_relation |
dro:32086 issn:1994-0416 issn: 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-14-4103-2020 http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/ https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4103-2020 http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/1/32086.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/2/32086.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/3/32086S.pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/32086/4/32086C.pdf |
op_rights |
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4103-2020 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
4103 |
op_container_end_page |
4120 |
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1766100276374142976 |