Antarctic ice mass fluxes from satellite observations
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Geographical Sciences
Abstract
The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest freshwater store on Earth by an order of magnitude and contains enough ice to increase global sea level by ~65 m. Changes in the input and output of ice (the mass balance) have profound implications for sea level, ocean circulation and inferences concerning the stability of the ice mass. The mass balance of the ice sheet is controlled by both short term and long term processes related to changes in snowfall and ice dynamics. To understand how the ice sheet is behaving now and to be able to predict how it will behave in the future we need to be able to quantify and separate the processes responsible for the trends in mass balance. Some recent research using satellite measurements of elevation change suggests that increased snowfall may be contributing to a positive mass balance for large sectors of the East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS). This conclusion, however, is not universally accepted and the results do not account for processes related to ice dynamics close to the margins of the ice sheet. Other recent studies, using different satellite data, suggest that overall, the ice sheet is losing a large amount of mass and that the EAIS is roughly in balance. To solve the open and crucial question of whether the EAIS is losing or gaining mass and to better understand the mass balance trends for the whole ice sheet, we will obtain accurate, regional-scale mass balance measurements with well constrained error budgets. In this project, in collaboration with US and Dutch partners, we will determine the mass balance of individual drainage basins covering ~85% of the ice sheet and the larger floating ice shelves using a combination of new and existing satellite observations and atmospheric modelling. In particular, we aim to determine conclusively whether the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is a net source or sink of ocean mass. We also aim to investigate the relative importance of trends in snowfall and ice dynamics in the mass budget of the ice sheet.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Jonathan Bamber (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Bamber J
(2009)
A new 1 km digital elevation model of the Antarctic derived from combined satellite radar and laser data - Part 1: Data and methods
in The Cryosphere
Bamber J
(2010)
The sea level fingerprint of recent ice mass fluxes
in The Cryosphere
Bamber JL
(2009)
Reassessment of the potential sea-level rise from a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Griggs J
(2017)
Antarctic ice-shelf thickness from satellite radar altimetry
in Journal of Glaciology
Griggs J
(2009)
Ice shelf thickness over Larsen C, Antarctica, derived from satellite altimetry
in Geophysical Research Letters
Griggs J
(2009)
A new 1 km digital elevation model of Antarctica derived from combined radar and laser data - Part 2: Validation and error estimates
in The Cryosphere
Jacobel R
(2010)
A comparison of basal reflectivity and ice velocity in East Antarctica
in The Cryosphere
Rignot E
(2008)
Recent Antarctic ice mass loss from radar interferometry and regional climate modelling
in Nature Geoscience
Riva R
(2010)
Sea-level fingerprint of continental water and ice mass change from GRACE
in Geophysical Research Letters
Riva R
(2009)
Glacial Isostatic Adjustment over Antarctica from combined ICESat and GRACE satellite data
in Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Sasgen I
(2010)
Combined GRACE and InSAR estimate of West Antarctic ice mass loss
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
Description | Resolved regional mass loss trends over Antarctica for multiple epochs for the first time. Derived ice thickness estimate for all ice shelves across Antarctica. These data were used to determine the partition between bottom melting and iceberg calving for the first time |
Exploitation Route | The data from the project were used to determine the partition between bottom melting and iceberg calving for the first time They have been used in numerous other studies on Antarctic ice shelves and were incorporated in a new bedmap for Antarctica. |
Sectors | Environment |
Description | They were cited in the IPCC AR5 and have been used extensively by others working on Antarctic research and were incorporated in a new bedmap for Antarctica. |
First Year Of Impact | 2008 |
Sector | Environment |
Impact Types | Societal |
Description | consultation by chief scientific adviser |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Description | Framework 7 Integrated award |
Amount | € 9,900,000 (EUR) |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 03/2009 |
End | 11/2013 |
Description | Collaboration with Bert Wouters (Universiteit Utrecht) |
Organisation | Utrecht University |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Joint development of CryoSat processing and combining with GRACE |
Collaborator Contribution | Joint development of CryoSat processing and combining with GRACE |
Impact | The collaboration has resulted in the following papers relevant to RCUK grants: -Wouters, B., J. L. Bamber, M. R. van den Broeke, J. T. M. Lenaerts and I. Sasgen (2013). "Limits in detecting acceleration of ice sheet mass loss due to climate variability." Nature Geosci advance online publication. - Martin Espanol, A., Zammit Mangion, A., Clarke, P. J., Flament, T., Helm, V., King, M. A., Luthcke, S.B, Petrie, E., Rémy, F. Schön, N., Wouters, B. and Bamber, J. (2016). Spatial and temporal Antarctic Ice Sheet mass trends, glacio-isostatic adjustment, and surface processes from a joint inversion of satellite altimeter, gravity, and GPS data. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 121(2), 182-200. DOI:10.1002/2015JF003550 - Wouters, B., Martin-Español, A., Helm, V., Flament, T., van Wessem, J. M., Ligtenberg, S.R.M., Van den Broeke, M.R. and Bamber, J.L. "Dynamic thinning of glaciers on the Southern Antarctic Peninsula." Science 348, no. 6237 (2015): 899-903. - Sasgen, I., Martín-Español, A., Horvath, A., Klemann, V., Petrie, E.J., Wouters, B., Horwath, M., Pail, R., Bamber, J.L., Clarke, P.J. and Konrad, H., 2017. Joint inversion estimate of regional glacial isostatic adjustment in Antarctica considering a lateral varying Earth structure (ESA STSE Project REGINA). Geophysical Journal International, 211(3), pp.1534-1553. |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | Collaboration with Ian Joughin (University of Washington) |
Organisation | University of Washington |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Joint programmes of research |
Collaborator Contribution | Provision of data and expert advice on data issues |
Impact | The collaboration has resulted in the following papers relevant to RCUK grants post 2006: -Joughin, I., S. Tulaczyk, J. L. Bamber, D. Blankenship, J. W. Holt, T. Scambos and D. G. Vaughan (2009). "Basal conditions for Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, West Antarctica, determined using satellite and airborne data." J. Glaciology 55(190): 245-257. -Hurkmans, R. T. W. L., J. L. Bamber, L. S. Sørensen, I. R. Joughin, C. H. Davis and W. B. Krabill (2012). "Spatiotemporal interpolation of elevation changes derived from satellite altimetry for Jakobshavn Isbræ, Greenland." J. Geophys. Res. 117(F3): F03001. - Hurkmans, R. T. W. L., Bamber, J. L., Davis, C. H., Joughin, I. R., Khvorostovsky, K. S., Smith, B. S., and Schoen, N.: Time-evolving mass loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet from satellite altimetry, The Cryosphere, 8, 1725-1740, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1725-2014, 2014. |
Description | Expert advice to the European Environment Agency |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The EEA workshop fed into their quinquennial review of the state of the climate system. It also resulted in a widely cited paper. see above. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Princes Teaching Institute |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The teachers follow up on my presentation with a number of activities and ideas for classroom teaching. Teachers express an increased awareness of the polar regions in global processes |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018 |
URL | http://www.princes-ti.org.uk/ |