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We use a combination of satellite techniques (interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), visible-band imagery, and repeat-track laser altimetry) to develop a benchmark map for the Amery Ice Shelf (AIS) grounding zone (GZ), including its islands and ice rises. The break-in-slope, as an indirect estimate of grounding line location, was mapped for the entire AIS. We have also mapped ,55% of the landward edge and ,30% of the seaward edge of the ice shelf flexure boundary for the AIS perimeter. Vertical ice motion from Global Positioning System receivers confirms the location of the satellite-derived GZ in two regions. Our map redefines the extent of floating ice in the south-western AIS and identifies several previously unmapped grounded regions, improving our understanding of the stresses supporting the current dynamical state of the ice shelf. Finally, we identify three along-flow channels in the ice shelf basal topography, approximately 10 km apart, 1.5 km wide and 300–500m deep, near the southern GZ. These channels, which form at the suture zones between ice streams, may represent zones of potential weakness in the ice shelf and may influence sub-ice-shelf ocean circulation.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	grounding lines, ice shelves, remote sensing, tides
Research Division:	Earth Sciences
Research Group:	Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
Research Field:	Glaciology
Objective Division:	Environment
Objective Group:	Ecosystem Assessment and Management
Objective Field:	Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Environments
Author:	Coleman, R (Professor Richard Coleman)
ID Code:	62105
Year Published:	2009
Web of Science® Times Cited:	53
Deposited By:	Centre for Marine Science
Deposited On:	2010-03-10
Last Modified:	2010-05-12
Downloads:	4 View Download Statistics