On the recent elevation changes at the Flade Isblink Ice Cap, northern Greenland
We have used Radar Altimeter 2 (RA‐2) onboard ESA’s EnviSAT and Geosciences Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) onboard NASA’s ICESat to map the elevation change of the Flade Isblink Ice Cap (FIIC) in northern Greenland. Based on RA‐2 data we show that the mean surface elevation change of the FIIC has bee...
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ftunivutrecht:oai:dspace.library.uu.nl:1874/234850 2023-07-23T04:19:23+02:00 On the recent elevation changes at the Flade Isblink Ice Cap, northern Greenland Rinne, E.J. Shepherd, A. Palmer, S. van den Broeke, M.R. Muir, A. Ettema, J. Wingham, D. Marine and Atmospheric Research Dep Natuurkunde Sub Dynamics Meteorology 2011 application/pdf https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/234850 en eng 0148-0227 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/234850 info:eu-repo/semantics/EmbargoedAccess Article 2011 ftunivutrecht 2023-07-02T00:04:46Z We have used Radar Altimeter 2 (RA‐2) onboard ESA’s EnviSAT and Geosciences Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) onboard NASA’s ICESat to map the elevation change of the Flade Isblink Ice Cap (FIIC) in northern Greenland. Based on RA‐2 data we show that the mean surface elevation change of the FIIC has been near zero (0.03 ± 0.03 m/a) between fall 2002 and fall 2009. We present the elevation change rate maps and assess the elevation change rates of areas above the late summer snow line (0.09 ± 0.04 m/a) and below it (−0.16 ± 0.05 m/a). The GLAS elevation change rate maps show that some outlet glaciers, previously reported to have been in a surge state, are thickening rapidly. Using the RA‐2 measured average elevation change rates for different parts of the ice cap we present a mass change rate estimate of 0.0 ± 0.5 Gt/a for the FIIC. We compare the annual elevation changes with surface mass balance (SMB) estimates from a regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2. We find a strong correlation between the two (R = 0.94 and P <0.002), suggesting that the surface elevation changes of the FIIC are mainly driven by net SMB. The correlation of modeled net SMB and measured elevation change is strong in the southern areas of the FIIC (R = 0.97 and P <0.0005), but insignificant in the northern areas (R = 0.38 and P = 0.40). This is likely due to higher variability of glacier flow in the north relative to the south. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Greenland Ice cap Utrecht University Repository Flade Isblink ENVELOPE(-15.000,-15.000,81.583,81.583) Greenland |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utrecht University Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivutrecht |
language |
English |
description |
We have used Radar Altimeter 2 (RA‐2) onboard ESA’s EnviSAT and Geosciences Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) onboard NASA’s ICESat to map the elevation change of the Flade Isblink Ice Cap (FIIC) in northern Greenland. Based on RA‐2 data we show that the mean surface elevation change of the FIIC has been near zero (0.03 ± 0.03 m/a) between fall 2002 and fall 2009. We present the elevation change rate maps and assess the elevation change rates of areas above the late summer snow line (0.09 ± 0.04 m/a) and below it (−0.16 ± 0.05 m/a). The GLAS elevation change rate maps show that some outlet glaciers, previously reported to have been in a surge state, are thickening rapidly. Using the RA‐2 measured average elevation change rates for different parts of the ice cap we present a mass change rate estimate of 0.0 ± 0.5 Gt/a for the FIIC. We compare the annual elevation changes with surface mass balance (SMB) estimates from a regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2. We find a strong correlation between the two (R = 0.94 and P <0.002), suggesting that the surface elevation changes of the FIIC are mainly driven by net SMB. The correlation of modeled net SMB and measured elevation change is strong in the southern areas of the FIIC (R = 0.97 and P <0.0005), but insignificant in the northern areas (R = 0.38 and P = 0.40). This is likely due to higher variability of glacier flow in the north relative to the south. |
author2 |
Marine and Atmospheric Research Dep Natuurkunde Sub Dynamics Meteorology |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rinne, E.J. Shepherd, A. Palmer, S. van den Broeke, M.R. Muir, A. Ettema, J. Wingham, D. |
spellingShingle |
Rinne, E.J. Shepherd, A. Palmer, S. van den Broeke, M.R. Muir, A. Ettema, J. Wingham, D. On the recent elevation changes at the Flade Isblink Ice Cap, northern Greenland |
author_facet |
Rinne, E.J. Shepherd, A. Palmer, S. van den Broeke, M.R. Muir, A. Ettema, J. Wingham, D. |
author_sort |
Rinne, E.J. |
title |
On the recent elevation changes at the Flade Isblink Ice Cap, northern Greenland |
title_short |
On the recent elevation changes at the Flade Isblink Ice Cap, northern Greenland |
title_full |
On the recent elevation changes at the Flade Isblink Ice Cap, northern Greenland |
title_fullStr |
On the recent elevation changes at the Flade Isblink Ice Cap, northern Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
On the recent elevation changes at the Flade Isblink Ice Cap, northern Greenland |
title_sort |
on the recent elevation changes at the flade isblink ice cap, northern greenland |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/234850 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-15.000,-15.000,81.583,81.583) |
geographic |
Flade Isblink Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Flade Isblink Greenland |
genre |
glacier Greenland Ice cap |
genre_facet |
glacier Greenland Ice cap |
op_relation |
0148-0227 https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/234850 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/EmbargoedAccess |
_version_ |
1772182388186546176 |