Abstract
Satellite radar interferometry data from 1995 to 2004, and airborne ice thickness data from 2002, reveal that the glaciers flowing into former Wordie Ice Shelf, West Antarctic Peninsula, discharge 6.8 ± 0.3 km3/yr of ice, which is 84 ± 30 percent larger than a snow accumulation of 3.7 ± 0.8 km3/yr over a 6,300 km2 drainage basin. Airborne and ICESat laser altimetry elevation data reveal glacier thinning at rates up to 2 m/yr. Fifty km from its ice front, Fleming Glacier flows 50 percent faster than it did in 1974 prior to the main collapse of Wordie Ice Shelf. We conclude that the glaciers accelerated following ice shelf removal, and have been thinning and losing mass to the ocean over the last decade. This and other observations suggest that the mass loss from the northern part of the Peninsula is not negligible at present.
Highlights
[2] Wordie Ice Shelf is among nine ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula that collapsed in the last fifty years in response to pronounced regional warming [Vaughan and Doake, 1996; Rott et al, 2002; Skvarca et al, 1999; Scambos et al, 2000]
Using Landsat MSS imagery, Vaughan [1993] found no evidence for changes in flow direction of the glaciers, such as contorted flow lines suggestive of a surge activity in response to the collapse. He concluded that ice shelf removal did not affect glacier flow
The west coast between Trinity Peninsula (63°) and Fleming drains an area of 30,900 km2 with a total accumulation of 26 ± 5 km3/yr. This region is likely to be in a state of negative mass balance: ice fronts are retreating rapidly [Rau et al, 2005], and air temperatures are increasing rapidly, in the north [Morris and Vaughan, 2003]
Summary
[2] Wordie Ice Shelf is among nine ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula that collapsed in the last fifty years in response to pronounced regional warming [Vaughan and Doake, 1996; Rott et al, 2002; Skvarca et al, 1999; Scambos et al, 2000]. Using Landsat MSS imagery, Vaughan [1993] found no evidence for changes in flow direction of the glaciers, such as contorted flow lines suggestive of a surge activity in response to the collapse. He concluded that ice shelf removal did not affect glacier flow. We conclude on the recent mass loss from this region
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