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Mapping the grounding zone of the Amery Ice Shelf,
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 01:56 authored by Fricker, HA, Richard ColemanRichard Coleman, Padman, L, Scambos, TA, Bohlander, J, Brunt, KMWe 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.
History
Publication title
Antarctic ScienceVolume
21Issue
5Pagination
515-532ISSN
0954-1020Department/School
Institute for Marine and Antarctic StudiesPublisher
Cambridge Univ PressPlace of publication
40 West 20Th St, New York, USA, Ny, 10011-4211Rights statement
Antarctic Science, Cambridge University Press Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2009Repository Status
- Restricted