TanDEM-X elevation model of Roi Baudoin ice shelf, link to GeoTIFF

Surface melt and subsequent firn air depletion can ultimately lead to disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves causing grounded glaciers to accelerate and sea level to rise. In the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), foehn winds enhance melting near the grounding line, which in the recent past has led to the disintegration of the most northerly ice shelves. Here, we provide observational and model evidence that this process also occurs over an East Antarctic (EA) ice shelf, where meltwater-induced firn air depletion is found in the grounding zone. Unlike the AP, where foehn events originate from episodic interaction of the circumpolar westerlies with the topography, in coastal EA high temperatures are caused by persistent katabatic winds originating from the ice sheet's interior. Katabatic winds warm and mix the air as it flows downward and cause widespread snow erosion, explaining >3 K higher near-surface temperatures in summer and surface melt doubling in the grounding zone compared to its surroundings. Additionally, these winds expose blue ice and firn with lower surface albedo, further enhancing melt. The in-situ observation of supraglacial flow and englacial storage of meltwater suggests that ice shelf grounding zones in EA, like their AP counterparts, are vulnerable to hydrofracturing.

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Cite this as

Lenaerts, Jan T M, Lhermitte, Stef, Drews, Reinhard, Ligtenberg, Stefan R M, Berger, Sophie, Helm, Veit, Smeets, Paul, van den Broeke, Michiel R, van de Berg, Willem Jan, van Meijgaard, Erik, Eijkelboom, Mark, Eisen, Olaf, Pattyn, Frank (2016). Dataset: TanDEM-X elevation model of Roi Baudoin ice shelf, link to GeoTIFF. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.868109

DOI retrieved: 2016

Additional Info

Field Value
Imported on November 30, 2024
Last update November 30, 2024
License UNKNOWN
Source https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.868109
Author Lenaerts, Jan T M
Given Name Jan T M
Family Name Lenaerts
More Authors
Lhermitte, Stef
Drews, Reinhard
Ligtenberg, Stefan R M
Berger, Sophie
Helm, Veit
Smeets, Paul
van den Broeke, Michiel R
van de Berg, Willem Jan
van Meijgaard, Erik
Eijkelboom, Mark
Eisen, Olaf
Pattyn, Frank
Source Creation 2016
Publication Year 2016
Subject Areas
Name: Atmosphere

Name: Ecology

Related Identifiers
Title: Meltwater produced by wind-albedo interaction stored in an East Antarctic ice shelf
Identifier: https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3180
Type: DOI
Relation: IsSupplementTo
Year: 2016
Source: Nature Climate Change
Authors: Lenaerts Jan T M , Lhermitte Stef , Drews Reinhard , Ligtenberg Stefan R M , Berger Sophie , Helm Veit , Smeets Paul , van den Broeke Michiel R , van de Berg Willem Jan , van Meijgaard Erik , Eijkelboom Mark , Eisen Olaf , Pattyn Frank .

Title: Overview image of the TDX Mosaic BIS 2013
Identifier: https://hs.pangaea.de/Maps/bis/TDX_Mosaic_BIS_2013_overview.png
Type: DOI
Relation: References