Widespread Persistent Thickening of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet by Freezing from the Base

An International Polar Year aerogeophysical investigation of the high interior of East Antarctica reveals widespread freeze-on that drives substantial mass redistribution at the bottom of the ice sheet. Although the surface accumulation of snow remains the primary mechanism for ice sheet growth, ben...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inScience (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 331; no. 6024; pp. 1592 - 1595
Main Authors Bell, Robin E., Ferraccioli, Fausto, Creyts, Timothy T., Braaten, David, Corr, Hugh, Das, Indrani, Damaske, Detlef, Frearson, Nicholas, Jordan, Thomas, Rose, Kathryn, Studinger, Michael, Wolovick, Michael
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 25.03.2011
The American Association for the Advancement of Science
Subjects
Antarctic regions
Cooling
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Glaciers
Ice
Ice sheets
Radar
Radar echoes
Reflectors
Snow. Ice. Glaciers
Supercooling
Topography
Valleys
polar regions
Antarctica
East Antarctica
Antarctica, East Antarctica, Dome A
Antarctica, East Antarctica
Basal ice
Ground based measurement
Glacier variation
Radar reflectors
ice sheets
freezing
Radar imaging
Observation data
Polar region
Aerial survey
Supercooled water
Subglacial flow
Thickening
geophysical surveys
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:An International Polar Year aerogeophysical investigation of the high interior of East Antarctica reveals widespread freeze-on that drives substantial mass redistribution at the bottom of the ice sheet. Although the surface accumulation of snow remains the primary mechanism for ice sheet growth, beneath Dome A, 24% of the base by area is frozen-on ice. In some places, up to half of the ice thickness has been added from below. These ice packages result from the conductive cooling of water ponded near the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountain ridges and the supercooling of water forced up steep valley walls. Persistent freeze-on thickens the ice column, alters basal ice rheology and fabric, and upwarps the overlying ice sheet, including the oldest atmospheric climate archive, and drives flow behavior not captured in present models.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1200109