scholarly journals Late Quaternary dynamics of the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Vol 252 ◽  
pp. 106738
Author(s):  
Li Wu ◽  
David J. Wilson ◽  
Rujian Wang ◽  
Sandra Passchier ◽  
Wout Krijgsman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Quaternary ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Lambert Glacier

scholarly journals Modelling the response of the Lambert Glacier–Amery Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica, to uncertain climate forcing over the 21st and 22nd centuries

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1057-1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Gong ◽  
S. L. Cornford ◽  
A. J. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Climate Model ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Adaptive Mesh ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Lambert Glacier

Abstract. The interaction between the climate system and the large polar ice sheet regions is a key process in global environmental change. We carried out dynamic ice simulations of one of the largest drainage systems in East Antarctica: the Lambert Glacier–Amery Ice Shelf system, with an adaptive mesh ice sheet model. The ice sheet model is driven by surface accumulation and basal melt rates computed by the FESOM (Finite-Element Sea-Ice Ocean Model) ocean model and the RACMO2 (Regional Atmospheric Climate Model) and LMDZ4 (Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique Zoom) atmosphere models. The change of ice thickness and velocity in the ice shelf is mainly influenced by the basal melt distribution, but, although the ice shelf thins in most of the simulations, there is little grounding line retreat. We find that the Lambert Glacier grounding line can retreat as much as 40 km if there is sufficient thinning of the ice shelf south of Clemence Massif, but the ocean model does not provide sufficiently high melt rates in that region. Overall, the increased accumulation computed by the atmosphere models outweighs ice stream acceleration so that the net contribution to sea level rise is negative.

scholarly journals Ice thickness over the southern limit of the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, and reassessment of the mass balance of the central portion of the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system

2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (66) ◽  
pp. 81-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiahong Wen ◽  
Long Huang ◽  
Weili Wang ◽  
T.H. Jacka ◽  
V. Damm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Atmospheric Modeling ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Central Portion ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Lambert Glacier

AbstractWe combine radio-echo sounding ice thickness data from the BEDMAP Project database and the PCMEGA (Prince Charles Mountains Expedition of Germany and Australia) dataset to generate a new ice thickness grid for the southern limit region of the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. We then reassess the mass balance of the central portion of the Lambert-Amery system, incorporating flow information derived from synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) and a modeled surface mass-balance dataset based on regional atmospheric modeling. Our analysis reveals that Mellor and Fisher Glaciers are approximately in balance to the level of our measurement uncertainty, while Lambert Glacier has a positive imbalance of 4.2 ±2.3 Gta1. The mass budget for the whole Lambert Glacier basin is approximately in balance, and the average basal melt rate in the downstream section of the ice shelf is 5.1 ± 3.0 m a-1. Our results differ substantially from other recent estimates using hydrostatically derived ice thickness data.

scholarly journals Accumulation variability and mass budgets of the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica, at high elevations

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 351-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiahong Wen ◽  
Kenneth C. Jezek ◽  
Andrew J. Monaghan ◽  
Bo Sun ◽  
Jiawen Ren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
High Elevations ◽  
Lambert Glacier

AbstractThe temporal and spatial variability of the annual accumulation rate and the mass budgets of five sub-basins of the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system (LAS), East Antarctica, at high elevations are assessed using a variety of datasets derived from field measurements and modeling. The annual temporal variations of the accumulation rate for four cores from the west and east sides of the LAS are around ±34%. Decadal fluctuation of the accumulation from the DT001 firn core drops to ±10%, and the 30 year fluctuation to ±5%, which is assumed to contain the information about the regional and long-term trend in accumulation. The 15-point running mean of the annual accumulation rate derived from stake measurements can remove most of the high-frequency spatial variation so as to better represent the local accumulation. Model simulations show that the spatial variability of erosion/ deposition of snow by the wind has a noticeable impact on the surface mass balance at the higher parts of the LAS. Mass-budget estimates at high-elevation sub-basins of the LAS suggest drainage 9 has a negative imbalance of −0.7 ± 0.4 Gta-1, Lambert and Mellor Glaciers have a positive imbalance of 3.9 ± 2.1 and 2.1 ±2.4 Gta-1 respectively, and Fisher Glacier and drainage 11 are approximately in balance. The higher-elevation region as a whole has a positive mass imbalance of 4.4 ± 6.3 Gta-1, which is consistent with the most recent radar altimetry assessment that shows an overall thickening over this region.

scholarly journals Revisiting Ice Flux and Mass Balance of the Lambert Glacier–Amery Ice Shelf System Using Multi-Remote-Sensing Datasets, East Antarctica

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 391
Author(s):  
Derui Xu ◽  
Xueyuan Tang ◽  
Shuhu Yang ◽  
Yun Zhang ◽  
Lijuan Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Lambert Glacier ◽  
The Antarctic

Due to rapid global warming, the relationship between the mass loss of the Antarctic ice sheet and rising sea levels are attracting widespread attention. The Lambert–Amery glacial system is the largest drainage system in East Antarctica, and its mass balance has an important influence on the stability of the Antarctic ice sheet. In this paper, the recent ice flux in the Lambert Glacier of the Lambert–Amery system was systematically analyzed based on recently updated remote sensing data. According to Landsat-8 ice velocity data from 2018 to April 2019 and the updated Bedmachine v2 ice thickness dataset in 2021, the contribution of ice flux approximately 140 km downstream from Dome A in the Lambert Glacier area to downstream from the glacier is 8.5 ± 1.9, and the ice flux in the middle of the convergence region is 18.9 ± 2.9. The ice mass input into the Amery ice shelf through the grounding line of the whole glacier is 19.9 ± 1.3. The ice flux output from the mainstream area of the grounding line is 19.3 ± 1.0. Using the annual SMB data of the regional atmospheric climate model (RACMO v2.3) as the quality input, the mass balance of the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Lambert Glacier was analyzed. The results show that recent positive accumulation appears in the middle region of the glacier (about 74–78°S, 67–85°E) and the net accumulation of the whole glacier is 2.4 ± 3.5. Although the mass balance of the Lambert Glacier continues to show a positive accumulation, and the positive value in the region is decreasing compared with values obtained in early 2000.

scholarly journals Surface meltstreams on the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 177-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen A. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Aperture Radar Image ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Altimeter Data ◽  
Topographic Map ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Brightness Temperatures ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Microwave Imager ◽  
Shelf Region ◽  
Lambert Glacier

A topographic map of a 120 km by 20 km section of the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, mapped with the global positioning system (GPS) in the spring of 1995, revealed two long, shallow troughs in the ice-shelf surface. Smooth features coinciding with these troughs appeared in a synthetic aperture radar image acquired 18 months earlier. ERS-1 altimeter waveform sequences and backscatter measurements along repeat satellite ground tracks across the same section of the Amery Ice Shelf, for the 1993-94 summer, exhibited a dramatic change over a 2 km sector between 30 January and 2 February 1994. The change is consistent with the presence of liquid water on the ice-shelf surface, located in the deeper of the two troughs. A time series of special sensor microwave/ imager brightness temperatures over the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf region for the same period has sharp maxima on 5 January and 21 January 1994. These maxima are interpreted as the melting events leading to the meltstream observed in the altimeter data 25 days later.

scholarly journals Geostatistical estimation from radar altimeter data with respect to morphological units outlined by SAR data: application to Lambert Glacier/Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica

2004 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 251-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf Stosius ◽  
Ute C. Herzfeld
Keyword(s):  
Surface Characteristics ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Morphological Properties ◽  
Altimeter Data ◽  
Shelf Area ◽  
Radar Altimeter ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Sar Data ◽  
Lambert Glacier

AbstractThe objective of this paper is the comparison of two kriging methods, ordinary kriging and kriging within strata, for calculation of digital elevation models (DEMs) from radar altimeter data, and application to the Lambert Glacier/Amery Ice Shelf system, East Antarctica. Two new DEMs are presented. First, a DEM of the Lambert Glacier/Amery Ice Shelf system is calculated from 1997 European Remote-sensing Satellite-2 (ERS-2) radar altimeter (RA) data using geostatistical interpolation. RA data have high along-track density, but gaps between tracks are several kilometers, depending on the observation mode; this requires interpolation. Because the ice-stream/ice-shelf system is of primary interest in glaciological investigations, in the first approach a variogram characteristic of the Lambert Glacier ice surface is used. The resultant map has low errors for the glacier and the ice shelf. To match the surface characteristics of different morphological units that constitute the Lambert Glacier/Amery Ice Shelf region, a second DEM is constructed as follows: We utilize RADARSAT synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data that were collected in 1997 during the first Antarctic Imaging Campaign and composed into a 125m backscatter-data mosaic by Jezek (1999) and we co-reference the 125m mosaic with the altimetry-derived DEM. The Lambert Glacier/Amery Ice Shelf area is then subdivided into several regions which are homogeneous with respect to characteristic surface-morphological properties identified in the SAR mosaic. For those regions, a problem-oriented complex kriging method known as kriging within strata is performed, and the resulting DEM is compared to the DEM that was derived from kriging without regional subdivision.

scholarly journals Properties of a marine ice layer under the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica

2009 ◽  
Vol 55 (192) ◽  
pp. 717-728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Craven ◽  
Ian Allison ◽  
Helen Amanda Fricker ◽  
Roland Warner
Keyword(s):  
Sea Water ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Closure Rate ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Average Porosity ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Ocean Properties

AbstractThe Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, undergoes high basal melt rates near the southern limit of its grounding line where 80% of the ice melts within 240 km of becoming afloat. A considerable portion of this later refreezes downstream as marine ice. This produces a marine ice layer up to 200 m thick in the northwest sector of the ice shelf concentrated in a pair of longitudinal bands that extend some 200 km all the way to the calving front. We drilled through the eastern marine ice band at two locations 70 km apart on the same flowline. We determine an average accretion rate of marine ice of 1.1 ± 0.2 m a−1, at a reference density of 920 kg m−3 between borehole sites, and infer a similar average rate of 1.3 ± 0.2 m a−1 upstream. The deeper marine ice was permeable enough that a hydraulic connection was made whilst the drill was still 70–100 m above the ice-shelf base. Below this marine close-off depth, borehole video imagery showed permeable ice with water-filled cavities and individual ice platelets fused together, while the upper marine ice was impermeable with small brine-cell inclusions. We infer that the uppermost portion of the permeable ice becomes impermeable with the passage of time and as more marine ice is accreted on the base of the shelf. We estimate an average closure rate of 0.3 m a−1 between the borehole sites; upstream the average closure rate is faster at 0.9 m a−1. We estimate an average porosity of the total marine ice layer of 14–20%, such that the deeper ice must have even higher values. High permeability implies that sea water can move relatively freely through the material, and we propose that where such marine ice exists this renders deep parts of the ice shelf particularly vulnerable to changes in ocean properties.

scholarly journals Radio-echo sounding of the lambert glacier basin

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (73) ◽  
pp. 103-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. I. Morgan ◽  
W. F. Budd
Keyword(s):  
Surface Topography ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Drainage Basin ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Deep Trench ◽  
Glacier System ◽  
Amery Ice Shelf ◽  
Lambert Glacier ◽  
Echo Sounding

AbstractSeveral seasons of aerial ice-thickness soundings over the region of the Prince Charles Mountains, the Lambert Glacier system, the Amery Ice Shelf, and their drainage basin in east Antarctica have now been completed. The measurements provide detailed maps of surface topography and ice thickness over an area of about 2 X 105 km2. The equipment used consisted of a 100 MHz echo sounder designed and constructed by Antarctic Division and carried in a Pilatus Porter aircraft. ERTS imagery provides a valuable background for portraying the echo-sounding results. These results show that an extensive, deep subglacial valley system forms the basis of the large drainage basin with concave ice surface topography which channels the ice flow into the Amery Ice Shelf. Deep glacial streams penetrate a long way into the ice-sheet basin. The rock relief is considerable, varying from 3 000 m above (present) sea-level to 2 000 m below sea-level. A very deep subglacial trench exists in the region of the confluence of the Fisher, Mellor, and Lambert Glaciers where the ice thickness reaches 2 500 m. The low surface slope and high ice velocity are suggestive of high melt production in this region. The strong echo, together with the high bedrock back-slope, suggests that the deep trench may contain a basal melt lake.

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