Abstract
Abstract. Observation of the evolving instability of ice shelves plays a very important role in global change research. Following the suddenly large-scale collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in the Antarctic Peninsula in 2002, the evolving instability for its remnant, the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf, began to be increasingly studied to provide a deeper understanding of the disintegration of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in 2002 and also provide a chance for studying the response of ice shelves to the large-scale collapse events. In this study, based on sequential Landsat images spanning 2005–2020, we produced detailed maps of the ice velocity fields for the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf. The results indicate that the ice velocities for the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf region have substantially increased since 2005, the maximum ice velocity reached more than 900 m/y in the ice shelf front. Surface rifts have also substantially increased in both length and width and are moving seawards. The ice front position of the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf is relatively stable in 2008–2010 and then steadily advancing after 2010. The acceleration of ice velocities, the dynamic change of the ice front, the increase of major surface rifts and the newly added rifts in the central part of the ice shelf, and the heavily enhanced surface crevasses are all revealing the evolving instability of the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf.
Highlights
Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents, is currently the largest ice sheet in the world, with about 90% of the global ice mass
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that the global sea-level rise from the 1950s levels would likely be within 0.61 - 1.10 m if warming exceeds 4°C by 2100, the uncertainty of the global sea level rise at the end of this century especially depends on the Antarctic ice sheet (IPCC, 2019)
We provide a continuum observation for the previous work (Qiao et al, 2020), the latest dynamic and structural behaviours of Scar Inlet Ice Shelf were investigated, including the ice front positions, rifts propagation, and ice velocities based on sequential Landsat satellite images
Summary
Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents, is currently the largest ice sheet in the world, with about 90% of the global ice mass. Ice mass loss from the whole ice sheet and its marine-based parts is a major contributor to global warming and sea level rise (Shepherd et al, 2012; Rignot et al, 2019). The two primary processes that account for the ice mass loss are basal melting and iceberg calving (Depoorter et al, 2013; Rignot et al, 2013). The longterm observations of the changes in the frontal position and surface features and ice velocities in time and space up to 2020, all of these indicate the evolving instability of the Scar Inlet Ice Shelf.
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