Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-mzp66 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-17T02:49:55.892Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

New ice thickness maps of Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, with specific focus on grounding lines and marine ice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 September 2007

A. Lambrecht ,
H. Sandhäger ,
D.G. Vaughan  and
C. Mayer
A. Lambrecht
Affiliation:
Stiftung Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Postfach 120161, 27515 Bremerhaven, Germany now at: Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
H. Sandhäger
Affiliation:
Stiftung Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Postfach 120161, 27515 Bremerhaven, Germany
D.G. Vaughan
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
C. Mayer
Affiliation:
Commission for Glaciology, Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Alfons-Goppel Str. 11, 80539 Munich, Germanyastrid.lambrecht@uibk.ac.at
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

For the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf we have compiled measurements of meteoric ice thickness from many institutions, and several different techniques (e.g. radar and seismic sounding) to produce an improved digital map of meteoric ice thickness. This map has high-resolution compared to previous compilations and serves to highlight small-scale geographic features (e.g. ice plains, grounding-line regions). We have also produced a map of the thickness of marine ice bodies beneath the ice shelf by using borehole density data to calibrate an ice thickness to surface-elevation relation, and then comparing maps of ice surface elevation and meteoric ice thickness to infer marine ice thickness. Due to denser data coverage and the improved density-depth relation, the resulting map is a significant improvement on its predecessors and allows insight into the glaciological context of the ice shelf, in particular, into the location of the grounding lines on the southern Ronne Ice Shelf. Here the data were supplemented with barometric determination of surface elevation, which were used to locate the grounding line position. The final delineation of the grounding line position was confirmed by reference to satellite imagery, and revealed that earlier estimates were substantially in error, especially in the area of Foundation Ice Stream and Möllereisstrom.

Keywords

Foundation Ice Streammeteoric ice thicknessMöllereisstrom
Type
PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , December 2007 , pp. 521 - 532
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ADD Consortium. 2002. Antarctic Digital Database, Version 4.0. Cambridge: Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.Google Scholar
Bamber, J.L. & Bindschadler, R.A. 1997. An improved elevation dataset for climate and ice-sheet modelling: validation with satellite imagery. Annals of Glaciology, 25, 439–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blindow, N. 1994. The central part of the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica: internal structures revealed by 40 MHz monopulse RES. Annals of Glaciology, 20, 365–371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bombosch, A. & Jenkins, A. 1995. Modeling the formation and deposition of frazil ice beneath Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf. Journal of Geophysical Research, 100, 6983–6992.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crabtree, R.D. & Doake, C.S.M. 1986. Radio-echo investigations of Ronne Ice Shelf. Annals of Glaciology, 8, 37–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corr, H.F.J., Doake, C.S.M., Jenkins, A. & Vaughan, D.G. 2001. Investigations of an ‘ice-plain’ in the mouth of Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica. Journal of Glaciology, 47, 51–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eicken, H., Oerter, H., Miller, H., Graf, W. & Kipfstuhl, J. 1994. Textural characteristics and impurity content of meteoric and marine ice in the Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Journal of Glaciology, 40, 386–398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engelhardt, H. & Determann, J. 1987. Borehole evidence for a thick layer of basal ice in the central Ronne Ice Shelf. Nature, 327, 318–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foldvik, A., Gammelsrød, T. & Tørresen, T. 1985. Circulation and water masses on the southern Weddell Sea shelf. Antarctic Research Series, 43, 5–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, A. & Cooper, A.P.R. 1994. Measured properties of the Antarctic ice sheet derived from SCAR Antarctic digital database. Polar Record, 30, 201–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fricker, H.A. & Padman, L. 2006. Ice Shelf grounding zone structure from ICESat laser altimetry. Geophysical Research Letters, 33, doi: 10.1029/2006GL026907.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fricker, H.A., Popov, S., Allison, I. & Young, N. 2001. Distribution of marine ice beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. Geophysical Reearch Letters, 28, 2241–2244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grosfeld, K. & Thyssen, F. 1994. Temperature investigation and modeling on Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Annals of Glaciology, 20, 377–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grosfeld, K., Hellmer, H.H., Jonas, M., Sandhäger, H., Schulte, M. & Vaughan, D.G. 1998. Marine ice beneath Filchner Ice Shelf: evidence from a multi-disciplinary approach. Antarctic Research Series, 75, 319–339.Google Scholar
Heidrich, B., Sievers, J., Schenke, H.W. & Thiel, M. 1992. Digitale Topographische Datenbank Antarktis - Die Küstenregionen vom westlichen Neuschwabenland bis zum Filchner–Ronne Schelfeis interpretiert aus Satellitenbilddaten. Nachrichten aus dem Karten- und Vermessungswesen, I(107), 127–140.Google Scholar
Hempel, L. & Oerter, H. 1995. Airborne radio echo sounding during the Filchner V field season. In Oerter, H., ed. Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf Programme Report, No. 9. Bremerhaven: Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 31–38.Google Scholar
Hindmarsh, R.C.A. 1993. Qualitative dynamics of marine ice sheets. In Peltier, W.R., ed. Ice in the climate system. Berlin: Springer, 67–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holland, D.H. & Jenkins, A. 2000. Adaptation of an isopynic coordinate ocean model for the study of circulation beneath ice shelves. Monthly Weather Review, 129, 1905–1927.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holland, D.M. & Fletham, D.R. In press. The effect of rotation and ice shelf topography on frazil-laden ice shelf water plumes. Journal of Physical Oceanography.Google Scholar
Homlund, P. 1992. Radio-echo soundings along the lowermost part of the Baileys Ice Stream in the Filchner Ice Shelf Basin. In Oerter, H., ed. Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf Programme Report, No. 6. Bremerhaven: Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 98–100.Google Scholar
Jenkins, A. & Doake, C.S.M. 1991. Ice-ocean interaction on Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research, 96, 791–813.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jezek, K. & The ramp Product Team. 2002. RAMP AMM-1 SAR image mosaic of Antarctica. Fairbanks, AK: Alaska SAR Facility & Boulder, CO: National Snow and Ice Data Center. [Digital media.]Google Scholar
Johnson, M.R. & Smith, A.M. 1997. Seabed topography under the southern and western Ronne Ice Shelf, derived from seismic surveys. Antarctic Science, 9, 201–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joughin, I. & Vaughan, D.G. 2004. Marine ice beneath the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica: a comparison of estimated thickness distributions. Annals of Glaciology, 39, 511–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambrecht, A. 1998. Investigations on mass balance and dynamics of the Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Berichte zur Polarforschung, 265, 143 pp. [In German.]Google Scholar
Lambrecht, A., Mayer, C., Oerter, H. & Nixdorf, U. 1999. Investigations of the mass balance of the southeastern Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Annals of Glaciology, 29, 250–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambrecht, A., Mayer, C., Hempel, L., Nixdorf, U. & Oerter, H. 1995. Glaciological investigations in the grounding line area of the Foundation Ice Stream, Antarctica. Polarforschung, 65, 15–25.Google Scholar
MacAyeal, D. 1987. Thermohaline circulation below the Ross Ice Shelf: a consequence of tidally induced vertical mixing and basal melting. Journal of Geophysical Research, 89, 597–606.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Makinson, K. 1996. Hot water drilling on Ronne Ice Shelf 1995/96. In Oerter, H., ed. Filchner Ronne Ice Shelf Programme Report, No. 10. Bremerhaven: Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 55–57.Google Scholar
Makinson, K. 2002. Modeling tidal current profiles and vertical mixing beneath Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 32, 202–215.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mantripp, D.R., Sievers, J., Bennat, H., Doake, C.S.M., Heidland, K., Ihde, J., Jonas, M., Riedel, B., Robinson, A.V., Scharroo, R., Schenke, H.W., Schirmer, U., Stefani, F., Vaughan, D.G. & Wingham, D.J. 1996. Topographic Map (Satellite Image Map) 1∶2 000 000 Filchner–Ronne Schelfeis, Antarctica. 2nd ed. Frankfurt am Main: Institut für Angewandte Geodäsie.Google Scholar
Nicholls, K.W., Makinson, K. & Robinson, A.V. 1991. Ocean circulation beneath the Ronne Ice Shelf. Nature, 354, 221–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicholls, K.W., Østerhus, S., Makinson, K. & Johnson, M.R. 2001. Oceanographic conditions south of Berkner Island, beneath Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research, 106, 11 481–11 492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oerter, H., Eiken, H., Kipfstuhl, J., Miller, H. & Graf, W. 1994. Comparison between ice core B13 and B15. In Oerter, H., ed. Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf Programme Report, No. 7. Bremerhaven: Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 29–36.Google Scholar
Oerter, H., Drücker, C., Kipfstuhl, J., Nixdorf, U. & Graf, W. 1992a. The Filchner IV campaign and the 320 m deep ice core B15. In Oerter, H., ed. Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf Programme Report, No. 6. Bremerhaven: Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 47–53.Google Scholar
Oerter, H., Kipfstuhl, J., Determann, J., Miller, H., Wagenbach, D., Minikin, A. & Graf, W. 1992b. Evidence for basal marine ice in the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf. Nature, 358, 399–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pozdeev, V.S. & Kurinin, R.G. 1987. New data on ice sheet morphology, bedrock and bottom relief in the southern Weddell Sea Basin, West Antarctica. Antarktika, doklady komissii, 26, 66–71. [In Russian.]Google Scholar
Riedel, B., Karsten, A., Ritter, B. & Niemeier, W. 1995. Geodetic fieldwork along Foundation Ice Stream In Oerter, H., ed. Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf Programme Report, No. 9. Bremerhaven: Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 101–106.Google Scholar
Robin, G. de, Q., Doake, C.S.M., Kohnen, H., Crabtree, R.D., Jordan, S.R. & Möller, D. 1983. Regime of the Filchner–Ronne ice shelves, Antarctica. Nature, 302, 582–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, A.V. & Makinson, K. 1992. Preliminary results from hot water drilling and oceanographic measurements under Ronne Ice Shelf. In Oerter, H., ed. Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf Programme Report, No. 6. Bremerhaven: Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 40–46.Google Scholar
Scambos, T., Bohlander, J., Raup, B. & Haran, T. 2004a. Glaciological characteristics of Institute Ice Stream using remote sensing. Antarctic Science, 16, 205–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scambos, T.A., Bohlander, J.A., Shuman, C.A. & Skvarca, P. 2004b. Glacier acceleration and thinning after ice shelf collapse in the Larsen B embayment, Antarctica. Geophysical Research Letters, 31, doi: 10.1029/2004GL020670.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sievers, J., Vaughan, D.G., Bombosch, A., Doake, C.S.M., Mantripp, D.R., Pozdeev, V.S., Ritter, B., Sandhäger, H., Swithinbank, C. & Thyssen, F. 1992. Satellite image map of Filchner–Ronne Schelfeis with contours. Frankfurt am Main: Institut für Angewandte Geodasie.Google Scholar
Sievers, J., Doake, C.S.M., Ihde, J., Mantripp, D.R., Pozdeev, V.S., Ritter, B., Schenke, H.W., Thyssen, F. & Vaughan, D.G. 1995. Validating and improving elevation data of a satellite-image map of Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, with results from ERS-1. Annals of Glaciology, 20, 347–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thyssen, F. 1988. Special aspects of the central part of Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Annals of Glaciology, 11, 173–179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thyssen, F. 1991. Flugprogramm auf dem Filchner–Ronne Schelfeis und Berkner Island. Berichte zur Polarforschung, 86, 77–79.Google Scholar
Thyssen, F., Bombosch, A. & Sandhäger, H. 1992. Elevation, ice thickness and structure mark maps of the central part of Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf. Polarforschung, 62, 17–26.Google Scholar
Vaughan, D.G. 1990. Preliminary results of British Antarctic Survey fieldwork on Ronne Ice Shelf 1988/89. In Miller, H., ed. Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf Programme Report, No. 4. Bremerhaven: Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 50–51.Google Scholar
Vaughan, D.G., Doake, C.S.M. & Mantripp, D.R. 1991. Thematic maps of Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf. In Miller, H. & Oerter, H., eds. Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf Programme Report, No. 5. Bremerhaven: Alfred Wegener Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, 8–11.Google Scholar
Vaughan, D.G. et al. 1994. Subglacial and seabed topography, ice thickness and water column thickness in the vicinity of Filchner–Ronne Schelfeis, Antarctica. Polarforschung, 64, 75–81.Google Scholar
Wingham, D.J., Doake, C.S.M., Ihde, J., Mantripp, D.R., Scharroo, R., Schenke, H.W. & Sievers, J. 1997. ESAMCA – Exploitation of satellite altimetry for the monitoring of climate-related change of Antarctic ice shelves. Final Report to the Commission of the European Communities, DGXII Framework 3 Environment Programme Phase II, Contract EV5C-CT94-0483. Holmbury St. Mary: Mullard Space Science Laboratory.Google Scholar