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Rapid Glacier Retreat Rates Observed in West Antarctica
- Source :
- Nature Geoscience. 15(1)
- Publication Year :
- 2022
- Publisher :
- United States: NASA Center for Aerospace Information (CASI), 2022.
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Abstract
- The Pope, Smith, and Kohler glaciers, in the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica, have experienced enhanced ocean-induced ice-shelf melt, glacier acceleration, ice thinning, and grounding line retreat in the past thirty years. Here we present observations of the grounding line retreat of these glaciers since 2014 using a constellation of interferometric radar satellites combined with precision surface elevation data. We find that the grounding lines develop spatially-variable, kilometre-scale, tidally-induced migration zones. After correction for tidal effects, we detect a sustained pattern of retreat coincident with high melt rates of un-grounded ice, marked by episodes of more rapid retreat. In 2017, Pope Glacier retreated 3.5 km in 3.6 months, or 11.7 km/yr. In 2016-2018, Smith West retreated at 2 km/yr and Kohler at 1.3 km/yr. While the retreat slowed down in 2018-2020, these retreat rates are faster than anticipated by numerical models on yearly time scales. We hypothesize that the rapid retreat is caused by un-represented, vigorous ice-ocean interactions acting within newly-formed cavities at the ice-ocean boundary.
- Subjects :
- Geophysics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 17520908 and 17520894
- Volume :
- 15
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- NASA Technical Reports
- Journal :
- Nature Geoscience
- Notes :
- NNX17AI02G, , 80NSSC18M0083, , NNX12AO21G, , NSF F0691-04
- Publication Type :
- Report
- Accession number :
- edsnas.20230000906
- Document Type :
- Report
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00877-z