Decline in Surface Melt Duration on Larsen C Ice Shelf Revealed by The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT)
Surface melting has been contributing to the surface lowering and loss of firn air content on Larsen C Ice Shelf since at least the mid-1990s. Where the amount of melting and refreezing is significant, the firn can become impermeable and begin to support ponds of surface meltwater such as have been...
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American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2018
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Online Access: | http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3027277/ https://doi.org/10.1029/2018ea000421 http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3027277/1/2018_bevan_ESS.pdf |
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ftunivliverpool:oai:livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk:3027277 2023-05-15T13:36:53+02:00 Decline in Surface Melt Duration on Larsen C Ice Shelf Revealed by The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) Bevan, Suzanne Louise Luckman, Adrian John Munneke, Peter Kuipers Hubbard, Bryn Kulessa, Bernd Ashmore, David William 2018 text http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3027277/ https://doi.org/10.1029/2018ea000421 http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3027277/1/2018_bevan_ESS.pdf en eng American Geophysical Union (AGU) http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3027277/1/2018_bevan_ESS.pdf Bevan, Suzanne Louise, Luckman, Adrian John, Munneke, Peter Kuipers, Hubbard, Bryn, Kulessa, Bernd and Ashmore, David William orcid:0000-0003-4829-7854 (2018) Decline in Surface Melt Duration on Larsen C Ice Shelf Revealed by The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT). EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE, 5 (10). pp. 578-591. Article NonPeerReviewed 2018 ftunivliverpool https://doi.org/10.1029/2018ea000421 2023-01-19T23:31:32Z Surface melting has been contributing to the surface lowering and loss of firn air content on Larsen C Ice Shelf since at least the mid-1990s. Where the amount of melting and refreezing is significant, the firn can become impermeable and begin to support ponds of surface meltwater such as have been implicated in ice shelf collapse. Although meteorological station data indicated an increase in melt on the Antarctic Peninsula over the second half of the 20th century, the existing Ku-band Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) time series is too short (1999–2009) to detect any significant 21st century trends. Here we investigate a longer 21st century period by extending the time series to 2017 using the C-band Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT). We validate our recent observations with in situ weather station data and, using a firn percolation model, explore the sensitivity of scatterometry to water at varying depths in the firn. We find that active microwave C-band (5.6-cm wavelength) instruments can detect water at depths of up to 0.75 m below a frozen firn layer. Our longer scatterometry time series reveals that Larsen C Ice Shelf has experienced a decrease in melt season length of 1–2 days per year over the past 18 years consistent with decreasing summer air temperatures. Only in western inlets, where föhn winds drive melt, has the annual melt duration increased during this period. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Shelf The University of Liverpool Repository Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Earth and Space Science 5 10 578 591 |
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Open Polar |
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The University of Liverpool Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivliverpool |
language |
English |
description |
Surface melting has been contributing to the surface lowering and loss of firn air content on Larsen C Ice Shelf since at least the mid-1990s. Where the amount of melting and refreezing is significant, the firn can become impermeable and begin to support ponds of surface meltwater such as have been implicated in ice shelf collapse. Although meteorological station data indicated an increase in melt on the Antarctic Peninsula over the second half of the 20th century, the existing Ku-band Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) time series is too short (1999–2009) to detect any significant 21st century trends. Here we investigate a longer 21st century period by extending the time series to 2017 using the C-band Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT). We validate our recent observations with in situ weather station data and, using a firn percolation model, explore the sensitivity of scatterometry to water at varying depths in the firn. We find that active microwave C-band (5.6-cm wavelength) instruments can detect water at depths of up to 0.75 m below a frozen firn layer. Our longer scatterometry time series reveals that Larsen C Ice Shelf has experienced a decrease in melt season length of 1–2 days per year over the past 18 years consistent with decreasing summer air temperatures. Only in western inlets, where föhn winds drive melt, has the annual melt duration increased during this period. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bevan, Suzanne Louise Luckman, Adrian John Munneke, Peter Kuipers Hubbard, Bryn Kulessa, Bernd Ashmore, David William |
spellingShingle |
Bevan, Suzanne Louise Luckman, Adrian John Munneke, Peter Kuipers Hubbard, Bryn Kulessa, Bernd Ashmore, David William Decline in Surface Melt Duration on Larsen C Ice Shelf Revealed by The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) |
author_facet |
Bevan, Suzanne Louise Luckman, Adrian John Munneke, Peter Kuipers Hubbard, Bryn Kulessa, Bernd Ashmore, David William |
author_sort |
Bevan, Suzanne Louise |
title |
Decline in Surface Melt Duration on Larsen C Ice Shelf Revealed by The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) |
title_short |
Decline in Surface Melt Duration on Larsen C Ice Shelf Revealed by The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) |
title_full |
Decline in Surface Melt Duration on Larsen C Ice Shelf Revealed by The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) |
title_fullStr |
Decline in Surface Melt Duration on Larsen C Ice Shelf Revealed by The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Decline in Surface Melt Duration on Larsen C Ice Shelf Revealed by The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) |
title_sort |
decline in surface melt duration on larsen c ice shelf revealed by the advanced scatterometer (ascat) |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3027277/ https://doi.org/10.1029/2018ea000421 http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3027277/1/2018_bevan_ESS.pdf |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Shelf |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Shelf |
op_relation |
http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3027277/1/2018_bevan_ESS.pdf Bevan, Suzanne Louise, Luckman, Adrian John, Munneke, Peter Kuipers, Hubbard, Bryn, Kulessa, Bernd and Ashmore, David William orcid:0000-0003-4829-7854 (2018) Decline in Surface Melt Duration on Larsen C Ice Shelf Revealed by The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT). EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE, 5 (10). pp. 578-591. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2018ea000421 |
container_title |
Earth and Space Science |
container_volume |
5 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
578 |
op_container_end_page |
591 |
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1766085262676328448 |