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We reconstructed surface mass balance (SMB) around Dome Fuji, Antarctica, over the last 5000 years using the data from 15 shallow ice cores and seven snow pits. The depth–age relationships for the ice cores were determined by synchronizing them with a layer-counted ice core from West Antarctica (WAIS Divide ice core) using volcanic signals. The reconstructed SMB records for the last 4000 years show spatial patterns that may be affected by their locations relative to the ice divides around Dome Fuji, proximity to the ocean, and wind direction. The SMB records from the individual ice cores and snow pits were stacked to reconstruct the SMB history in the Dome Fuji area. The stacked record exhibits a long-term decreasing trend at -0.037±0.005 kg m−2 per century over the last 5000 years in the preindustrial period. The decreasing trend may be the result of long-term surface cooling over East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and sea ice expansion in the water vapor source areas. The multidecadal to centennial variations of the Dome Fuji SMB after detrending the record shows four distinct periods during the last millennium: a mostly negative period before 1300 CE, a slightly positive period from 1300 to 1450 CE, a slightly negative period from 1450 to 1850 CE with a weak maximum around 1600 CE, and a strong increase after 1850 CE. These variations are consistent with those of previously reconstructed SMB records in the East Antarctic plateau. The low accumulation rate periods tend to coincide with the combination of strong volcanic forcings and solar minima for the last 1000 years, but the correspondence is not clear for the older periods, possibly because of the lack of coincidence of volcanic and solar forcings or the deterioration of the SMB record due to a smaller number of stacked cores.

The 13th Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions [OM] Polar meteorology and glaciology, Wed. 16 Nov.

The recovery of a new Antarctic ice core spanning the last ~1.5 million years will advance our understanding of climate system dynamics during the Quaternary. Recent glaciological field surveys have been conducted to select the most suitable core location near Dome Fuji (DF), Antarctica. Specifically, ground-based radar-echo soundings have been used to acquire highly detailed images of bedrock topography and internal ice layers. In this study, we use a one-dimensional (1-D) ice flow model to compute the temporal evolutions of age and temperature, in which the ice flow is linked with not only transient climate forcing associated with past glacial‒interglacial cycles, but also transient basal melting diagnosed along the evolving temperature profile. We investigated the influence of ice thickness, accumulation rate, and geothermal heat flux on the age and temperature profiles. The model was constrained by the observed temperature and age profiles reconstructed from DF ice‒core analysis. The results of sensitivity experiments indicate that ice thickness is the most crucial parameter influencing the computed age of the ice because it is critical to the history of basal temperature and basal melting, which can eliminate old ice. The 1-D model was applied to a 54 km long transect in the vicinity of DF and compared with radargram data. We found that the basal age of the ice is mostly controlled by the local ice thickness, demonstrating the importance of high spatial resolution surveys of bedrock topography for selecting ice-core drilling sites.

We reconstructed surface mass balance (SMB) around Dome Fuji, Antarctica, over the last 5000 years using the data from 15 shallow ice cores and 7 snow pits. The depth-age relationships for the ice cores were determined by synchronizing them with a layer-counted ice core from West Antarctica (WAIS Divide ice core) using volcanic signals. The reconstructed SMB records for the last 4000 years show spatial patterns that may be affected by their locations relative to the ice divides around Dome Fuji, proximity to the ocean, and wind direction. The SMB records from the individual ice cores and snow pits were stacked to reconstruct the SMB history in the Dome Fuji area. The stacked record exhibits a long-term decreasing trend at −0.037±0.005 kg m-2 per century over the last 5000 years in the preindustrial period. The decreasing trend may be the result of long-term surface cooling over East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and sea-ice expansion in the water vapor source areas. The multidecadal to centennial variations of the Dome Fuji SMB after detrending the record shows four distinct periods during the last millennium: mostly negative period before 1300 C.E., slightly positive for 1300–1450 C.E., slightly negative for 1450–1850 C.E. with a weak maximum around 1600 C.E., and strong increase after 1850 C.E. These variations are consistent with those of previously reconstructed SMB records in the East Antarctic plateau. The low accumulation rate periods tend to coincide with the combination of strong volcanic forcings and solar minima for the last 1000 years, but the correspondence is not clear for the older periods, possibly because of the lack of coincidence of volcanic and solar forcings, or the deterioration of the SMB record due to smaller number of stacked cores.

The retrieval of continuous ice core records of more than 1 Myr is an important challenge in palaeo-climatology. For identifying suitable sites for drilling such ice, knowledge of the subglacial topography and englacial layering is crucial. For this purpose, extensive ground-based ice radar surveys were carried out over Dome Fuji in the East Antarctic plateau during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 austral summers by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, on the basis of ground-based radar surveys conducted over the previous ∼ 30 years. High-gain Yagi antennae were used to improve the antenna beam directivity, thereby significantly decreasing hyperbolic features of unfocused along-track diffraction hyperbolae in the echoes from mountainous ice–bedrock interfaces. We combined the new ice thickness data with the previous ground-based data, recorded since the 1980s, to generate an accurate high-spatial-resolution (up to 0.5 km between survey lines) ice thickness map. This map revealed a complex landscape composed of networks of subglacial valleys and highlands. Based on the new map, we examined the roughness of the ice–bed interface, the bed surface slope, the driving stress of ice and the subglacial hydrological condition. These new products and analyses set substantial constraints on identifying possible locations for new drilling. In addition, our map was compared with a few bed maps compiled by earlier independent efforts based on airborne radar data to examine the difference in features between datasets. Our analysis suggests that widely available bed topography products should be validated with in situ observations where possible.

We developed a high-performance, multichannel, ultra-wideband radar system for measurements of the base and interior of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. We designed the radar to be of high power (4000-W peak) yet portable and to be able to operate with 60-MHz bandwidth at a center frequency of 200 MHz, providing high sensitivity and fine vertical resolution relative to current technology. We used the radar to perform extensive mea- surements as a part of a multinational collaboration. We collected data onboard a tracked vehicle outfitted with an array of high-gain antennas. We sounded 2- to 3-km thick ice near Dome Fuji. Prelim- inary ice thickness data match those obtained via semicoincident measurements performed with a different surface-based pulse- modulated radar system operated during the same field campaign, as well as previous airborne measurements. In addition, we mapped internal reflection horizons with fine vertical resolution from 300 m below the ice surface to ∼100 m above the bed. In this article, we provide a detailed overview of the radar instrument design, implementation, and field measurement setup. We present sample data to illustrate its capabilities and discuss how the data collected with it will be valuable for the assessment of promising drilling sites to recover ice cores that are 0.9–1.5 million years old.

We use the full-Stokes model Elmer/Ice to investigate the present dynamics of Bowdoin Glacier, a marine-terminating outlet glacier in northwestern Greenland. Short-term speed variations of the glacier were observed, correlating with air temperature and precipitation, and with the semi-diurnal ocean tides. We use a control inverse method to determine the distribution of basal friction. This reveals that most of the glacier area is characterized by near-plug-flow conditions, while some sticky spots are also identified. We then conduct experiments to test the sensitivity of the glacier flow to basal lubrication and tidal forcing at the calving front. Reduction of the basal drag by 10–40% produces speed-ups that agree approximately with the observed range of speed-ups that result from warm weather and precipitation events. In agreement with the observations, tidal forcing and surface speed near the calving front are found to be in anti-phase (high tide corresponds to low speed, and vice versa). However, the amplitude of the semi-diurnal variability is underpredicted by a factor ~ 3, which is likely related to either inaccuracies in the surface and bedrock topographies or mechanical weakening due to crevassing.

The retrieval of continuous ice core records of more than 1 Myr is an important challenge in palaeo-climatology. For identifying suitable sites for drilling such ice, the knowledge of the subglacial topography and englacial layering is crucial. For this purpose, extensive ground-based ice radar surveys were done over Dome Fuji in the East Antarctic plateau during the 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 austral summers by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, on the basis of ground-based radar surveys conducted over the previous ~ 30 years. High-gain Yagi antennae were used to improve the antenna beam directivity and thus attain a significant decrease in hyperbolic features in the echoes from mountainous ice-bedrock interfaces. We combined the new ice thickness data with the previous ground-based data, recorded since the 1980s, to generate an accurate high-spatial-resolution (up to 0.5 km between survey lines) ice thickness map. This map revealed a complex landscape composed of networks of subglacial valleys and highlands, which sets substantial constraints for identifying possible locations for new drilling. In addition, our map was compared with a few bed maps compiled by earlier independent efforts based on airborne radar data to examine the difference in features between sets of the data.

The 11th Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OM] Polar Meteorology and Glaciology, Poster presentations, Mon. 16 Nov. - Fri. 18 Dec.

The 11th Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OM] Polar Meteorology and Glaciology, Poster presentations, Mon. 16 Nov. - Fri. 18 Dec.

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OM] Polar Meteorology and Glaciology, Wed. 4 Dec. / 2F Auditorium, National Institute of Polar Research

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OM] Polar Meteorology and Glaciology, Wed. 4 Dec. / 2F Auditorium, National Institute of Polar Research

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OM] Polar Meteorology and Glaciology, Wed. 4 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor) , National Institute of Polar Research

Measuring glacier calving magnitude, frequency and location in high temporal resolution is necessary to understand mass loss mechanisms of ocean-terminating glaciers. We utilized calving-generated tsunami signals recorded with a pressure sensor for estimating the calving flux of Bowdoin Glacier in northwestern Greenland. We find a relationship between calving ice volume and wave amplitude. This relationship was used to compute calving flux variation. The calving flux showed large spatial and temporal fluctuations in July 2015 and in July 2016, with a mean flux of 2.3 ± 0.15 × 105 m3 d−1. Calving flux was greater during periods of fast ice flow, high air temperature, and at low/falling tide, indicating the importance of increased longitudinal strain due to glacier acceleration and/or submarine melting at the calving front. Long-term measurements with the method introduced here are promising for understanding the complex interplay of ice dynamics, melting and calving at glacier fronts., Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 515, ISSN:0012-821X, ISSN:1385-013X

A large number of glaciers and ice caps (GICs) are distributed along the Greenland coast, physically separated from the ice sheet. The total area of these GICs accounts for 5% of Greenland’s ice cover. Melt water input from the GICs to the ocean substantially contributed to sea-level rise over the last century. Here, we report surface elevation changes of six ice caps near Qaanaaq (77°28′N, 69°13′W) in northwestern Greenland based on photogrammetric analysis of stereo pair satellite images. We processed the images with a digital map plotting instrument to generate digital elevation models (DEMs) in 2006 and 2010 with a grid resolution of 500 m. Generated DEMs were compared to measure surface elevation changes between 2006 and 2010. Over the study area of the six ice caps, covering 1215 km2, the mean rate of elevation change was −1.1 ± 0.1 m a−1. This rate is significantly greater than that previously reported for the 2003–2008 period (−0.6 ± 0.1 m a−1) for GICs all of northwestern Greenland. This increased mass loss is consistent with the rise in summer temperatures in this region at a rate of 0.12 °C a−1 for the 1997–2013 period.

The Ninth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OM] Polar meteorology and glaciology, Wed. 5 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor), National Institute of Polar Research

The Ninth Symposium on Polar Science/Special session: [S] Antarctic ice-ocean interaction ～observation, reconstruction, and modeling～, Tue. 4 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor) at National Institute of Polar Research

Glacier microseismicity is a promising tool to study glacier dynamics. However, physical processes connecting seismic signals and ice dynamics are not clearly understood at present. Particularly, the relationship between tide-modulated seismicity and dynamics of calving glaciers remains elusive. Here we analyze records from an on-ice seismometer placed 250 m from the calving front of Bowdoin Glacier, Greenland. Using high-frequency glacier flow speed measurements, we show that the microseismic activity is related to strain rate variations. The seismic activity correlates with longitudinal stretching measured at the glacier surface. Both higher melt rates and falling tides accelerate glacier motion and increase longitudinal stretching. Long-term microseismic monitoring could therefore provide insights on how a calving glacier's force balance and flow regime react to changes at the ice-ocean interface.

We present a new glacier inventory for high-mountain Asia named "Glacier Area Mapping for Discharge from the Asian Mountains" (GAMDAM). Glacier outlines were delineated manually using 356 Landsat ETM+ scenes in 226 path-row sets from the period 1999–2003, in conjunction with a digital elevation model (DEM) and high-resolution Google EarthTM imagery. Geolocations are largely consistent between the Landsat imagery and DEM due to systematic radiometric and geometric corrections made by the United States Geological Survey. We performed repeated delineation tests and peer review of glacier outlines in order to maintain the consistency and quality of the inventory. Our GAMDAM glacier inventory (GGI) includes 87 084 glaciers covering a total area of 91 263 ± 13 689 km2 throughout high-mountain Asia. In the Hindu Kush–Himalaya range, the total glacier area in our inventory is 93% that of the ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) inventory. Discrepancies between the two regional data sets are due mainly to the effects of glacier shading. In contrast, our inventory represents significantly less surface area (−24%) than the recent global Randolph Glacier Inventory, version 4.0 (RGI), which includes 119 863 ± 9201 km2 for the entirety of high Asian mountains. Likely causes of this disparity include headwall definition, effects of exclusion of shaded glacier areas, glacier recession since the 1970s, and inclusion of seasonal snow cover in the source data of the RGI, although it is difficult to evaluate such effects quantitatively. Further rigorous peer review of GGI will both improve the quality of glacier inventory in high-mountain Asia and provide new opportunities to study Asian glaciers.

Despite the importance of glacial lake development in ice dynamics and glacier thinning, in situ and satellite based measurements from lake-terminating glaciers are sparse in the Bhutan Himalaya, where a number of supraglacial lakes exist. To better understand the influences of glacial lake formation and expansion on ice dynamics and glacier thinning, we acquired in situ and satellite based observations across lake- and land-terminating debris-covered glaciers in the Lunana region, Bhutan Himalaya. A repeat differential GPS survey reveals that thinning of the debris-covered ablation area of the lake-terminating Lugge Glacier for the 2004–2011 period (−4.67 ± 0.02 m a−1) is more than three times greater than that of the land-terminating Thorthormi Glacier (−1.40 ± 0.02 m a−1). The surface flow velocity decreases down-glacier along Thorthormi Glacier, whereas it increases from the upper part of ablation area to the terminus of Lugge Glacier. Numerical experiments with a two-dimensional ice flow model demonstrate that the rapid thinning of Lugge Glacier is driven primarily by a negative surface mass balance and that the dynamically induced change in ice thickness is small. However, the thinning of Thorthormi Glacier is suppressed by a longitudinally compressive flow regime. The magnitude of dynamic ice thickening more than offsets the glacier thinning, suggesting that over half of the negative surface mass balance is counterbalanced by the ice dynamics of Thorthormi Glacier. Multiple ponds on Thorthormi Glacier have been expanding since 2000 and merged into a single proglacial lake, with the glacier terminus detaching from its terminal moraine in 2011. Numerical experiments suggest that the speed up and thinning of Thorthormi Glacier will be accelerated with continued proglacial lake development.

To better understand recent rapid recession of marine-terminating glaciers in Greenland, we performed satellite and field observations near the calving front of Bowdoin Glacier, a 3 km wide outlet glacier in northwestern Greenland. Satellite data revealed a clear transition to a rapidly retreating phase in 2008 from a relatively stable glacier condition that lasted for >20 years. Ice radar measurements showed that the glacier front is grounded, but very close to the floating condition. These results, in combination with the results of ocean depth soundings, suggest bed geometry in front of the glacier is the primary control on the rate and pattern of recent rapid retreat. Presumably, glacier thinning due to atmospheric and/or ocean warming triggered the initial retreat. In situ measurements showed complex short-term ice speed variations, which were correlated with air temperature, precipitation and ocean tides. Ice speed quickly responded to temperature rise and a heavy rain event, indicating rapid drainage of surface water to the bed. Semi-diurnal speed peaks coincided with low tides, suggesting the major role of the hydrostatic pressure acting on the calving face in the force balance. These observations demonstrate that the dynamics of Bowdoin Glacier are sensitive to small perturbations occurring near the calving front.

In 2005 the ongoing retreat of Rhonegletscher, Switzerland, led to the formation of a proglacial lake. To investigate the influence of proglacial lake formation on the dynamics and evolution of glaciers, we measured horizontal flow velocity, vertical ice motion and water levels in boreholes with high spatial resolutions during the summer seasons of 2007–09. Annual flow speeds near the terminus increased by a factor of 2.7 from 2005/06 to 2007/08, and exceeded 20 m a−1 in 2009. The velocity increased towards the glacier front, indicating that the ice was thinning under a longitudinally stretching flow regime. Our observations show that the increase in flow speed near the terminus was due to increases in basal motion as a result of ice thinning. During summer 2009, the ice surface at the terminus moved vertically upwards by up to 4.69 m as the ice began to float on the lake. The observed ice motion can be explained by the upward bending of marginal ice and the formation of faults that cut through the entire ice thickness. We predict that if the current ice thinning continues, the basal water pressure will exceed the pressure exerted by the ice overburden, and the glacier will progressively disintegrate over an expanding area.

Ice flow acceleration has played a crucial role in the rapid retreat of calving glaciers in Alaska, Greenland and Antarctica. High-frequency measurements of ice speed and basal water temperatures from a calving glacier in Patagonia show that changes in basal water pressure by a few per cent can significantly affect ice flow speed. Ice flow acceleration has played a crucial role in the rapid retreat of calving glaciers in Alaska1,2, Greenland and Antarctica3,4. Glaciers that calve in water flow much faster than those that terminate on land, as a result of enhanced basal ice motion where basal water pressure is high5. However, a scarcity of subglacial observations in calving glaciers limits a mechanistic understanding. Here we present high-frequency measurements of ice speed and basal water pressures from Glaciar Perito Moreno, a fast-flowing calving glacier in Patagonia. We measured water pressure in boreholes drilled at a site where the glacier is 515±5 m thick, and where more than 60% of the ice is below the level of proglacial lakes. We found that the mean basal water pressure was about 95% of the pressure imposed by the weight of the overlying ice. Moreover, changes in basal water pressure by a few per cent drove nearly 40% of the variations in ice flow speed. The ice speed was strongly correlated to air temperature, suggesting that glacier motion was modulated by water pressure changes as meltwater entered the system. We conclude that basal water pressure in calving glaciers is important for glacier dynamics, and closely connected to climate conditions.

The Glaciological Research Project in Patagonia (GRPP) 2006-2009 was carried out with several objectives at Glaciar Perito Moreno of the Hielo Patagonico Sur (HPS), in the area of the Hielo Patagonico Norte (HPN) and along the Pacific coast. At Glaciar Perito Moreno, hot water drilling was carried out at about 5km upstream from the terminus, reaching the glacier bottom at ca. 515m, in order to monitor subglacial water pressure. Good positive correlations among air temperature, subglacial water pressure and glacier flow speed were found. Based on 14C dating of tree and organic samples, it is proposed that Glaciar Perito Moreno made two Little Ice Age (LIA) advances at AD1600-1700 and ca. 130-100y BP (AD1820-50). Fan deltas located at the mouth of big rivers around Lago General Carrera (Buenos Aires) and Lago Cochrane (Pueyrredon), in the area east of the HPN, were investigated to elucidate their development. The variations of 21 outlet glaciers of the HPN elucidated from aerial surveys for 2004/05-2008/09 revealed an areal loss of 8.67km2 in four years. A general slowing down of retreats was observed with a few exceptions. Meteorological measurements at Glaciar Exploradores of the HPN from 2005 to 2009 indicate that air temperature ranged from 17.4°C to -10.5°C. The total annual precipitation was about 3000mm. Glacier surface melt was observed at two spots. Sediment and water discharges from the glacier showed that while water discharge fluctuated a lot, suspended sediment concentration was rather stable in summer. A single channel seismic profiling during the JAMSTEC MR08-06 cruise identified a probable submerged moraine formed before the last glacial maximum (LGM) in the Golfo de Penas, south of Taitao Peninsula. Piston coring along the Chilean coast further indicates that ice-rafted debris recorded the LGM and earlier Late Pleistocene events of the glacial advance.

AbstarctTo investigate the impact of proglacial lake formation on the dynamics and evolution of glaciers, we measured the ice motion of the terminal part of Rhonegletscher, Switzerland, where a lake formed in 2005. In 2009, the flow velocity near the terminus was >20 m a−1. One of the survey stakes tripled its velocity between 2006 and 2007. Since the lake water pressure was consistently close to the ice overburden pressure, it is likely that the high subglacial water pressure enhanced the basal ice motion. The estimated flow velocity due to ice shearing was negligibly small; almost 100% of the horizontal velocity near the terminus was caused by basal sliding. The longitudinal strain rate was large, 0.064 a–1, indicating that much of the glacier thinning was due to ice dynamics. The region of ice flotation adjacent to the lake expanded between 2008 and 2009 as a result of glacier thinning. Accordingly, a huge uplift of the surface was observed in 2009. It is clear from the vertical ice motion as well as visual observations that the marginal part of the glacier began to float. The ice-thinning rate in the studied area from 2008 to 2009 was 3.4 ma–1, larger than previous estimates.

AbstarctThe spatial pattern of glacier surface melt was measured with a resolution of 20–100m within a region extending 1 km up-glacier from the terminus of Rhonegletscher, Switzerland. The melt rate was monitored from 6 July to 6 September 2009 using 44 ablation stakes. We also measured the surface albedo near the stakes to investigate the importance of this parameter for the melt-rate distribution. The melt rate varied from 32.8 to 71.9 mm w.e. d–1 in the study area. Our measurements suggest that the spatial variation of the melt rate can be explained by (1) shading of the ice surface by neighbouring mountains, (2) surface albedo and (3) effects of microclimate (e.g. radiation from sidewalls) on the surface energy balance. The observed melt-rate distribution was compared to the results of a temperature-index melt model, which takes into account shading of direct solar illumination but not the other two effects. The model reproduces some important features of the field data, but its spatial variations are generally less than the measured values. Our study shows the importance of albedo and other local conditions in the accurate estimation of the small-scale melt-rate distribution.

第6回極域科学シンポジウム分野横断セッション：[IA] 急変する北極気候システム及びその全球的な影響の総合的解明―GRENE北極気候変動研究事業研究成果報告2015―11月19日（木） 国立極地研究所１階交流アトリウム