Drivers of change in East Antarctic ice shelves

Antarctica holds enough landlocked ice to raise the global sea level by nearly 60 m in the event of wholesale ice sheet collapse. In East Antarctica, the Aurora Subglacial Basin is drained by Totten Glacier and is one of the world’s largest and most rapidly-changing ice catchment systems. In recent decades, Totten Glacier has exhibited variability in its flow rate, mass balance, and ice thickness, each led by changes at the ice sheet margin. Totten Glacier dynamics are linked to processes in the Totten Ice Shelf, which buttresses the flow of grounded ice while being subjected to variable ocean forcing from below. Understanding the stability of the Aurora Subglacial Basin in a changing climate requires an understanding of how Totten Ice Shelf responds to changes in its environment. This dissertation investigates ice shelf processes on spatial scales of 1 km to 100 km, that act on sub-annual to decadal time scales. The independent roles of channelized basal melt and large-scale basal melt resulting from a variable supply of oceanic heat content are examined using surface elevation changes measured by airborne laser altimetry, satellite laser altimetry, and a new method of photometry applied to satellite images. A new method of satellite image template matching is also developed to understand ice shelf velocity response to several environmental forcing mechanisms. On the interannual time scale, Totten Ice Shelf is seen accelerating in response to nearby upwelling of warm circumpolar deep water that enhances basal melt rates. On the subannual time scale, Totten Ice Shelf exhibits winter slowdown as buttressing from seasonal landfast sea ice at the ice shelf front slows the flow of the glacier. These findings show that the Totten Glacier catchment is sensitive to changes in its environment, and may be susceptible to changes in the coastal wind stress projected for the 21st century.Geological Science

Mass Changes of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets and Shelves and Contributions to Sea-level Rise: 1992-2002

Changes in ice mass are estimated from elevation changes derived from 10.5 years (Greenland) and 9 years (Antarctica) of satellite radar altimetry data from the European Remote-sensing Satellites ERS-1 and -2. For the first time, the dH/dt values are adjusted for changes in surface elevation resulting from temperature-driven variations in the rate of fun compaction. The Greenland ice sheet is thinning at the margins (-42 plus or minus 2 Gta(sup -1) below the equilibrium line altitude (ELA)) and growing inland (+53 plus or minus 2 Gt a(sup -1)above the ELA) with a small overall mass gain (+11 plus or minus 3 Gt a(sup -1); -0.03 mm a(sup -1) SLE (sea level equivalent)). The ice sheet in West Antarctica (WA) is losing mass (-47 (dot) 4 GT a(sup -1) and the ice sheet in East Antarctica (EA) shows a small mass gain (+16 plus or minus 11 Gt a(sup -1) for a combined net change of -31 plus or minus 12 Gt a(sup -1) (+0.08 mm a(sup -1) SLE)). The contribution of the three ice sheets to sea level is +0.05 plus or minus 0.03 mm a(sup -1). The Antarctic ice shelves show corresponding mass changes of -95 (dot) 11 Gt a(sup -1) in WA and +142 plus or minus 10 Gt a(sup -1) in EA. Thinning at the margins of the Greenland ice sheet and growth at higher elevations is an expected response to increasing temperatures and precipitation in a warming climate. The marked thinnings in the Pine Island and Thwaites Glacier basins of WA and the Totten Glacier basin in EA are probably ice-dynamic responses to long-term climate change and perhaps past removal of their adjacent ice shelves. The ice growth in the southern Antarctic Peninsula and parts of EA may be due to increasing precipitation during the last century

SCAR Report on Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment

The first comprehensive review of the state of Antarctica’s climate and its relationship to the global climate by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). The review - Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment – presents the latest research from the icy continent, identifies areas for future scientific research, and addresses the urgent questions that policy makers have about Antarctic melting, sea-level rise and biodiversity

Auswertung von ICESat-Laseraltimeterdaten zur Untersuchung glaziologischer Fragestellungen in polaren Gebieten

Mit der Mission des Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) gelangte erstmals ein Laseraltimetersystem in einen erdgebundenen Orbit. Die vorliegende Arbeit verdeutlicht anhand von drei verschiedenen Anwendungen das Potenzial dieser Altimeterdaten zur Überwachung des Antarktischen und des Grönländischen Eisschilds. Beide Schilde bilden ein Schlüsselglied im globalen Klimasystem der Erde. In einem ersten Hauptabschnitt werden die ICESat-Altimeterdaten für das Gebiet des Lake Vostok, des größten Vertreters subglazialer Seen in der Antarktis, untersucht. Dieses Gebiet eignet sich durch die Höhenstabilität des über dem See liegenden Eisschilds insbesondere als Validierungsgebiet für Altimeterdaten. Diese werden hinsichtlich der zwischen den Lasern auftretenden Offsets umfassend analysiert. Die ermittelten Offsets variieren in einem Bereich zwischen -7.5 und +13.9 cm und erreichen damit die angestrebte Messgenauigkeit der Mission. Im Hinblick auf eine Bestimmung von zeitlich linearen Höhenänderungen der Eisschilde stellen sie den größten genauigkeits-limitierenden Faktor dar. Aus den um die Offsets korrigierten Altimeterdaten wird ein rasterförmiges Topographiemodell der Eisoberfläche erstellt. Dieses wird umfassend untersucht. Im Anschluss werden glaziologische Anwendungen vorgestellt, für welche das Topographiemodell eine zentrale Grundlage bildet. Unter anderem erfolgt in der Kombination mit Eisdicken- und Geoidinformationen der Nachweis, dass sich das Eis über dem See im hydrostatischen Gleichgewicht befindet. Im Zuge dieser Untersuchung wird aber auch deutlich, dass an einigen Stellen des Sees das Gleichgewicht verletzt wird. Mögliche Ursachen hierfür werden näher untersucht und eingehend diskutiert. Für den Grönländischen Eisschild erfolgt die Analyse der um die Laseroffsets korrigierten Altimeterdaten zur Ableitung zeitlich linearer Höhenänderungen. Die methodische Basis hierfür bildet eine Wiederholspuranalyse der Altimeterdaten. Zur Minimierung des Einflusses der lokalen Topographie und zur besseren Separation der saisonalen Höhenvariation werden die korrespondierenden Altimetermessungen entlang der Referenzspuren an ein drei-komponentiges mathematisches Modell durch Ausgleichung bestmöglich angepasst. Die für den ICESat-Missionszeitraum bestimmte mittlere Höhenrate des Eisschilds beträgt -13.0±0.5 cm/a. Die stärkste Höhenabnahme verzeichnet der Eisschild in den westlichen und südöstlichen küstennahen Randbereichen. Unter Verwendung der Eisdichte für die Volumen-Massen-Umrechnung entspricht dies einer Massenänderung von -209.5±35.6 Gt/a. Dies entspricht einem eustatischen Meeresspiegelanstieg von +0.6±0.1 mm/a. In einer dritten Anwendung werden die ICESat-Altimeterdaten über dem Amery-Schelfeises untersucht. Es wird eine Methodik vorgestellt, welche auf der Kreuzkorrelation von Höhenprofilen verschiedener Epochen beruht und zur Ableitung von Fließgeschwindigkeiten des Schelfeises dient. Der entwickelte Ansatz wird auf die ICESat-Referenzspur 49 angewendet. Sie verläuft entlang der zentralen Achse des Schelfeises. Im Bereich zwischen -71.6° und -70.1° Breite wächst die Fließgeschwindigkeit von +0.83±0.09 m/d auf +1.02±0.06 m/d an. Das Ergebnis steht im Einklang mit einem unabhängigen Geschwindigkeitsmodell, welches zur Validierung herangezogen wurde.The Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) was the first Earth-orbiting laser altimeter mission in space. The following work is dedicated to the ICESat-altimetry data in order to demonstrate their full potential for the investigation of glaciological implications in polar regions. The primary science objective of the mission was to focus on the mass balances of the Greenland Ice Sheet and the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Both of them play a key role in the Earth's climate system. Firstly, the ICESat elevation profiles covering the Lake Vostok region are analysed in more detail. The Lake Vostok is the largest known subglacial lake in Antarctica to date. Due to a fast and strong degradation of the laser energy, the ICESat elevation measurements are affected by offsets. The estimated offsets between the laser operational periods vary between -7.5 und +13.9 cm. Therefore, they can't be neglected in the view of precise mass change determinations for ice sheets. In addition, a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the ice surface topography is generated on the basis of the adjusted elevation profiles. The DEM is analysed in more detail. Furthermore, the DEM forms the basis for the investigation of glaciological implications. In combination with an ice-thickness model and a regional geoid model the hydrostatic equilibrium condition is evaluated. It turns out, that the ice sheet covering the lake fulfils the hydrostatic equilibrium condition within ±1 m for large parts of the lake. Beside this, positive and negative deviations are found in the northern and southern part of the lake. Secondly, ice surface height changes and their temporal variations are inferred for the Greenland ice sheet. This investigation is based on a refined repeat-track analysis in order to exploit the full potential of ICESat's altimetry data. To reduce the influence of the local topography corresponding measurements along the track are fitted to a mathematical model, consisting of three components. For the entire ice sheet a mean surface height trend of -13.0±0.5 cm/yr is determined. The largest changes are identified at the coastal margins of the ice sheet. Using the ice surface height changes long-term volume- and mass-change rates are inferred. For this purpose the density of pure ice is used for the volume-mass-conversion. The overall long-term mass change rate amounts to -209.5±35.6 Gt/yr. This is equivalent to an eustatic sea level rise of +0.6±0.1 mm/yr. A third approach analyses ICESat elevation profiles over the Amery ice shelf. The method is based on a cross-correlation analysis of different ICESat repeat cycle in order to determine the ice flow velocity along the track. This method is applied to reference track 49. The investigation reveals that between 71.7° S and 70.1° S along the reference track, the ice-flow velocity increases from about +0.83±0.09 m/d to +1.02±0.06 m/d. These results are in general good agreement with velocities derived from an independent velocity field

The Topography and Flow of the Antarctic Ice Sheet

been used to investigate the form and topography of the Antarctic ice sheet and to relate these to the physical processes of ice flow and basal conditions. Topographic roughness typically increases towards the thin ice of coastal reg ions as surface undulation wav el eng ths decrease and amplitudes increase. Temperature and velocity variations also have significant effects. The coastal zone is punctuated by embayments of severe topography immediately inland of outlet glaciers. This topographic variability has been summarized in a statistical model for the purposes of simulating satellite radar altimeter waveforms. Consideration of the relationship between bedrock and surface profiles has shown that ice temperature is a major influence on the response of the surface to bedrock irregularities. Regional subglacial water layers may al so have an important effect on surface topography. A re-analysis of models of longitudinal stress grad i ents suggests that er ystal fabrics favouring faster flow develop with distance from ice divides and that the relative depth of the zone of maximum shear fluctuates in response to topographic and glaciological constraints. Driving stress patterns have been associated with characteristic glaciological regimes and have suggested a qualitative difference between outlet glaciers and ice streams. The transition to high velocity flow in outlet glaciers has been shown to be triggered ab ruptly in response to subglac ial fjord heads. The dependence of fast flow on subglacial topography indicates a significant stabilizing effect on discharge from ice sheets and suggests that surge behaviour is unlikely within existing ice sheet outlets. The onset of basal sliding at the head of subglac ial fjords suggests a mechanism for the production of overdeepened fjords and steep headwalls through concentrated erosion. This may help in the reconstruction of the dynamics of former ice sheets. Some West Antarctic ice streams do not exhibit this rapid transition in behaviour