Abstract
AbstractTerrestrial radar interferometry (TRI) is a new technique for studying ice motion and volume change of glaciers. TRI is especially useful for temporally and spatially dense measurements of highly dynamic glacial termini. We conducted a TRI survey of Breiðamerkurjökull, a marine-terminating glacier in Iceland, imaging its terminus near the end of the melt season in 2011, 2012 and 2013. The ice velocities were as high as 5 m d−1, with the fastest velocities near the calving front. Retreat of the glacier over the 3 year observation period was accompanied by strong embayment formation. Iceberg tracking with the radar shows high current velocities near the embayment, probably indicating strong meltwater outflow and mixing with relatively warm lagoon water.
Highlights
Melting of the ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica is accelerating, presumably in response to rising global temperatures (Wouters and others, 2008; Jiang and others, 2010; Rignot and others, 2011; Shepherd and others, 2012)
In each of the three observation years, the maximum velocities measured with the Terrestrial radar interferometry (TRI) occur near the calving front, and are 3–5 0.05 m dÀ 1
The velocity maps show that the zones of high velocity are located in a concentrated area near the calving front, with 2012 having a wider areal distribution of high velocities than 2011 and 2013
Summary
Melting of the ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica is accelerating, presumably in response to rising global temperatures (Wouters and others, 2008; Jiang and others, 2010; Rignot and others, 2011; Shepherd and others, 2012). Ocean forcing, where warm, saline ( dense) water undercuts the deeper parts of marine-terminating glaciers (Motyka and others, 2003), is believed to be an important aspect of accelerating ice loss on both land masses (Payne and others, 2004; Shepherd and others, 2004; Holland and others, 2008; Straneo and others, 2010, 2012; Joughin and others, 2012; Park and others, 2013). Studying this process is challenging, as it involves measurements in or near the highly dynamic ice/ocean interface. The lagoon has a maximum depth of 300 m and is connected to the North Atlantic Ocean through a 100 m wide by 20 m deep engineered channel lined with rip-rap (Björnsson, 1996)
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