Geodetic Mass Balance of the South Shetland Islands Ice Caps, Antarctica, from Differencing TanDEM-X DEMs

Language
en
Document Type
Article
Issue Date
2021-09-14
First published
2021-08-27
Issue Year
2021
Authors
Shahateet, Kaian
Seehaus, Thorsten
Navarro, Francisco
Sommer, Christian
Braun, Matthias
Editor
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract

Although the glaciers in the Antarctic periphery currently modestly contribute to sea level rise, their contribution is projected to increase substantially until the end of the 21st century. The South Shetland Islands (SSI), located to the north of the Antarctic Peninsula, are lacking a geodetic mass balance calculation for the entire archipelago. We estimated its geodetic mass balance over a 3–4-year period within 2013–2017. Our estimation is based on remotely sensed multispectral and interferometric SAR data covering 96% of the glacierized areas of the islands considered in our study and 73% of the total glacierized area of the SSI archipelago (Elephant, Clarence, and Smith Islands were excluded due to data limitations). Our results show a close to balance, slightly negative average specific mass balance for the whole area of −0.106 ± 0.007 m w.e. a−1, representing a mass change of −238 ± 12 Mt a−1. These results are consistent with a wider scale geodetic mass balance estimation and with glaciological mass balance measurements at SSI locations for the same study period. They are also consistent with the cooling trend observed in the region between 1998 and the mid-2010s.

Journal Title
Remote Sensing
Volume
13
Issue
17
Citation
Remote Sensing 13.17 (2021): 3408. <https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/17/3408>
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