Extent of low-accumulation 'wind glaze' areas on the East Antarctic plateau: Implications for continental ice mass balance

Persistent katabatic winds form widely distributed localized areas of near-zero net surface accumulation on the East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS) plateau. These areas have been called 'glaze' surfaces due to their polished appearance. They are typically 2-200km 2 in area and are found on lee...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Glaciology
Main Authors: Scambos T. A., Frezzotti M., Haran T., Bohlander J., Lenaerts J. T. M., Van Den Broeke M. R., Jezek K., Long D., Urbini S., Farness K., Neumann T., Albert M., Winther J. -G.
Other Authors: Scambos, T. A., Frezzotti, M., Haran, T., Bohlander, J., Lenaerts, J. T. M., Van Den Broeke, M. R., Jezek, K., Long, D., Urbini, S., Farness, K., Neumann, T., Albert, M., Winther, J. -G.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Antarctic
East Antarctic Ice Sheet
Antarc*
Ice Sheet
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11590/353576
https://doi.org/10.3189/2012JoG11J232
http://docserver.ingentaconnect.com/deliver/connect/igsoc/00221430/v58n210/s1.pdf?expires=1346118897&id=70210051&titleid=6497&accname=Elsevier+BV&checksum=C92EB78F57E8D5A79F00F6410A72875E
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Summary:Persistent katabatic winds form widely distributed localized areas of near-zero net surface accumulation on the East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS) plateau. These areas have been called 'glaze' surfaces due to their polished appearance. They are typically 2-200km 2 in area and are found on leeward slopes of ice-sheet undulations and megadunes. Adjacent, leeward high-accumulation regions (isolated dunes) are generally smaller and do not compensate for the local low in surface mass balance (SMB). We use a combination of satellite remote sensing and field-gathered datasets to map the extent of wind glaze in the EAIS above 1500m elevation. Mapping criteria are derived from distinctive surface and subsurface characteristics of glaze areas resulting from many years of intense annual temperature cycling without significant burial. Our results show that 11.2±1.7%, or 950±143×10 3 km 2, of the EAIS above 1500m is wind glaze. Studies of SMB interpolate values across glaze regions, leading to overestimates of net mass input. Using our derived wind-glaze extent, we estimate this excess in three recent models of Antarctic SMB at 46-82 Gt. The lowest-input model appears to best match the mean in regions of extensive wind glaze.

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