The internal layering of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, from airborne radar-sounding data

This paper presents an overview of internal layering across Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, as measured from airborne-radar data acquired during a survey conducted by the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Texas in the 2004/05 season. Internal layering is classified according to type (continuous/discontinuous/missing) and the results compared with InSAR velocities. Several areas exhibit disruption of internal layers that is most likely caused by large basal shear stresses. Signs of changes in flow were identified in a few inter-tributary areas, but overall the layering classification and distribution of layers indicate that only minor changes in ice-flow regime have taken place. This is supported by bed-topography data that show the main trunk of the glacier, as well as some of the tributaries, are topographically controlled and located in deep basins

Inland extent of the Weddell Sea Rift imaged by new aerogeophysical data

Peer reviewedPostprin

Subglacial controls on the flow of Institute Ice Stream, West Antarctica

The Institute Ice Stream (IIS) rests on a reverse-sloping bed, extending >150 km upstream into the ~1.8 km deep Robin Subglacial Basin, placing it at the threshold of marine ice-sheet instability. Understanding IIS vulnerability has focused on the effect of grounding-line melting, which is forecast to increase significantly this century. Changes to ice-flow dynamics are also important to IIS stability, yet little is known about them. Here we reveal the trunk of the IIS occurs downstream of the intersection of three discrete subglacial features; a large ‘active’ subglacial lake, a newly-discovered sharp transition to a zone of weak basal sediments, and a major tectonic rift. The border of IIS trunk flow is confined by the sediment on one side, and by a transition between basal melting and freezing at the border with the Bungenstock Ice Rise. By showing how basal sediment and water dictate present-day flow of IIS, we reveal that ice-sheet stability here is dependent on this unusual arrangement

Aerodynamic roughness of glacial ice surfaces derived from high-resolution topographic data

This paper presents new methods of estimating the aerodynamic roughness (z0) of glacier ice directly from three-dimensional point clouds and digital elevation models (DEMs), examines temporal variability of z0, and presents the first fully distributed map of z0 estimates across the ablation zone of an Arctic glacier. The aerodynamic roughness of glacier ice surfaces is an important component of energy balance models and meltwater runoff estimates through its influence on turbulent fluxes of latent and sensible heat. In a warming climate these fluxes are predicted to become more significant in contributing to overall melt volumes. Ice z0 is commonly estimated from measurements of ice surface microtopography, typically from topographic profiles taken perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction. Recent advances in surveying permit rapid acquisition of high-resolution topographic data allowing revision of assumptions underlying conventional z0 measurement. Using Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry with Multi-View Stereo (MVS) to survey ice surfaces with millimeter-scale accuracy, z0 variation over 3 orders of magnitude was observed. Different surface types demonstrated different temporal trajectories in z0 through 3 days of intense melt. A glacier-scale 2 m resolution DEM was obtained through terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), and subgrid roughness was significantly related to plot-scale z0. Thus, we show for the first time that glacier-scale TLS or SfM-MVS surveys can characterize z0 variability over a glacier surface potentially leading to distributed representations of z0 in surface energy balance models

A temperate former West Antarctic ice sheet suggested by an extensive zone of bed channels

Several recent studies predict that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will become increasingly unstable under warmer conditions. Insights on such change can be assisted through investigations of the subglacial landscape, which contains imprints of former ice-sheet behavior. Here, we present radio-echo sounding data and satellite imagery revealing a series of ancient large sub-parallel subglacial bed channels preserved in the region between the Möller and Foundation Ice Streams, West Antarctica. We suggest that these newly recognized channels were formed by significant meltwater routed along the icesheet bed. The volume of water required is likely substantial and can most easily be explained by water generated at the ice surface. The Greenland Ice Sheet today exemplifies how significant seasonal surface melt can be transferred to the bed via englacial routing. For West Antarctica, the Pliocene (2.6–5.3 Ma) represents the most recent sustained period when temperatures could have been high enough to generate surface melt comparable to that of present-day Greenland. We propose, therefore, that a temperate ice sheet covered this location during Pliocene warm periods

Jinn, psychiatry and contested notions of misfortune among East London Bangladeshis

This study examines understandings of misfortune among east London Bangladeshis, particularly with respect to the role of jinn spirits. It reports on the findings of ethnographic interviews among 40 members of this community. Appeal to jinn explanations is commonplace at times of psychological disturbance and unexplained physical symptoms. Resort to traditional healers is frequent. These explanations are contested by different groups in the community. The findings are examined within the context of a discourse on tradition and modernity with particular emphasis on Islam and modernity. Copyright 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution

Thermal structure and basal sliding parametrisation at Pine Island Glacier – a 3-D full-Stokes model study

Pine Island Glacier is one of the fastest changing glaciers of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and therefore of scientific interest. The glacier holds enough ice to raise the global sea level significantly (~ 0.5 m) when fully melted. The question addressed by numerous modelling studies of the glacier focuses on whether the observed changes are a start of an uncontrolled and accelerating retreat. The movement of the glacier is, in the fast-flowing areas, dominated by basal motion. In modelling studies the parametrisation of the basal motion is therefore crucial. Inversion methods are commonly applied to reproduce the complex surface flow structure of Pine Island Glacier by using information of the observed surface velocity field to constrain, among other things, basal sliding. We introduce two different approaches of combining a physical parameter, the basal roughness, with basal sliding parametrisations. This way basal sliding is again connected closer to its original formulation. We show that the basal roughness is an important and helpful parameter to consider and that many features of the flow structure can be reproduced with these approaches