Aerial photographs of the Antarctic Peninsula’s glaciers. Credit: Dr. Anna E. Hogg, University of Leeds
According to researchers, glaciers – massive blocks of moving ice – located along the coast of Antarctica are flowing faster during the summer due to a combination of melting snow and warmer ocean temperatures.
On average, the glaciers travel at around one kilometer (0.6 miles) a year. But a new study has found a seasonal variation in the speed of the ice flow, which speeded up by up to 22% in summer when temperatures are warmer. This gives an insight into the way climate change could affect the behavior of glaciers and the role they could play in raising sea levels.
Up until now, the study of the rugged Antarctic peninsula has been limited because of the difficulties scientists face getting onto the glaciers to conduct fieldwork. But from space, advances in satellite technology are revealing new insights into the speed at which the glaciers are moving and draining water into the surrounding ocean.
Aerial photographs of the Antarctic Peninsula’s glaciers. Credit: Dr. Anna E. Hogg, University of Leeds
Antarctic Peninsula – and global sea levels
The Antarctic Peninsula is the largest reservoir of frozen water on Earth. It is estimated that between 1992 and 2017, meltwater from the glaciers increased global sea levels by around 7.6 mm. How that may change in the future is one of the big uncertainties in modeling climate change.
A team of researchers, led by scientists at the University of Leeds, has used more than 10,000 satellite images, taken above the Antarctic Peninsula between 2014 and 2021, to understand how the flow of glaciers into the waters around the Antarctic alters during colder and warmer periods.
Ben Wallis, a doctoral researcher and first author of the study, said: “One of the important findings of this study is that it reveals how sensitive glaciers in Antarctica are to the environment. We have known for a long time that glaciers in Greenland have a seasonal behavior, but it is only now that satellite data has shown similar behavior in Antarctica.”
The paper will be published today (February 27, 2023) in the journal Nature Geosciences.
This time-lapse shows the flow of Breguet Glacier, one of the 105 glaciers that feature in the study. This animation is made with Synthetic Aperture Radar images, the same images that scientists use to measure how fast the ice is flowing. Credit: Ben Wallis, University of Leeds/ESA
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula is the most northern and warmest region of Antarctica. It has a 1,000 km long mountainous spine, similar to the length of the east coast of Great Britain, and home to a rich marine ecosystem of seals, penguins, and whales.
Along the west coast of the peninsula, the glaciers drain ice from the ice sheet directly into the Southern Ocean.
Analysis of the satellite data showed that the glacier speed-up occurs in summer as snow melts and the temperature of the waters in the Southern Ocean rise. It is thought that water from the melting snow acts as a lubricant between the ice sheet and the underlying rock. As a result, friction is reduced and the speed at which the glaciers slide increases.
In addition, the warmer waters of the Southern Ocean erode the front of the moving ice, which reduces the buttressing forces it exerts to resist the ice flow.
Dr. Anna Hogg, Associate Professor in the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science at Leeds and an author of the paper, said: “The Antarctic Peninsula has seen some of the most rapid warming of any region on Earth. Continuing work like this will help glaciologists monitor how quickly change is occurring, enabling accurate assessments of how Earth’s ice will respond to climate change.”
Map of ice speed in the study area on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Credit: Copernicus, International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO), Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA), British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Ben Wallis, University of Leeds
Earth observation from space
The European Space AgencyThe European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the exploration and study of space. ESA was established in 1975 and has 22 member states, with its headquarters located in Paris, France. ESA is responsible for the development and coordination of Europe's space activities, including the design, construction, and launch of spacecraft and satellites for scientific research and Earth observation. Some of ESA's flagship missions have included the Rosetta mission to study a comet, the Gaia mission to create a 3D map of the Milky Way, and the ExoMars mission to search for evidence of past or present life on Mars.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>European Space Agency and European Commission Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite, whose data was used in this study, provides weekly monitoring around the whole coastline of Antarctica.
The satellite is fitted with synthetic aperture radar which can “see” through clouds, enabling measurements of the glaciers to be taken both day and night.
Craig Donlon of the European Space Agency said: “This study highlights how high-resolution satellite images can help us monitor how the environment is changing in remote regions. Future satellites, such as the family of Copernicus Sentinel expansion missions, promise to bring enhanced continuity and capabilities that will spearhead further insight into the characteristics and processes governing ice mass balance and sea-level rise.”
Reference: “Widespread seasonal speed-up of west Antarctic Peninsula glaciers from 2014 to 2021” 27 February 2023, Nature Geoscience<span class="st"> Nature Geoscience is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Nature Publishing Group that covers all aspects of the Earth sciences, including theoretical research, modeling, and fieldwork. Other related work is also published in fields that include atmospheric sciences, geology, geophysics, climatology, oceanography, paleontology, and space science. </span><span class="st">It was established in January 2008.
</span>” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>Nature Geoscience.
DOI: 10.1038/s41561-023-01131-4
The authors of the paper – Widespread seasonal speed-up of west Antarctic Peninsula glaciers from 2014-2021 – are Ben Wallis, Anna Hogg, and Ben Davison, all from the University of Leeds; and Jan Melchior van Wessem and Michiel van den Broeke, from the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht.
Funding: Natural Environment Research Council, European Space Agency, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Netherlands Earth System Science Centre
Source: SciTechDaily
