Complex ice stream flow revealed by sequential satellite imagery

Abstract

The velocity field of the confluence area of two large ice stream tributaries forming Ice Stream D in West Antarctica is studied using sequential Landsat images. Sequential satellite image analysis allows for a very high density of velocity measurements, based on computer-measured displacements of features such as crevasses, crevasse scars, and ice mounds recognizable in both images. Automated displacement measurement of these features results in a detailed map of surface velocities from which surface-horizontal strain-rate fields can be calculated. Correlations between the surface morphology, the velocity field, and the strain-rate field of Ice Stream D reveal a number of important characteristics of ice stream flow: • the characteristic flowband appearance of streaming ice is present at velocities from below 100 m a−1 to above 350 m a−1; • in the upstream areas, there appears to be no sharp transition between “sheet” flow, typical of the surrounding ice sheet, and “streaming” flow; • the fastest moving portions of the ice stream are nearly devoid of surface topography undulations; • the confluence area is characterized by acceleration of the ice in the slower tributary as it impinges on faster-moving ice, and by highly convergent flow. Velocity in the faster-moving tributary changes little, and there is no persistent evidence of the shear margins of the joined tributaries downstream of the confluence. This study demonstrates that sequential satellite image analysis, coupled with computer-determined displacement measurements, can provide accurate velocity and strain-rate information on a regional scale rapidly and cost-effectively. Such data sets are required for modelling ice sheet evolution, and for monitoring any changes in ice flow within the ice streams.