Monitoring of Ice Shelves with Specific Emphasis on Antarctic Shelves
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Monitoring of Ice Shelves With Specific emphasis on Antarctic Shelves P. Jayaprasad Scientist Microwave Technique Development Division, AMHTDG/EPSA Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad, India email: [email protected] TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Antarctica Antarctica, the southernmost continent, is an ice-covered land mass. 90% of world’s fresh water is in Antarctica. It is broadly divided in to East Antarctica and West Antarctica. Antarctic Peninsula is one of the test beds for monitoring climate variation. ………………………………………………………………………. TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Antarctic Ice Features The broader categories of ice features of Antarctica include Ice Sheet (ice layer covering landmass over an extensive period) Ice Shelf (Floating sheet of ice permanently attached to land mass) Iceberg (the floating land ice) Glaciers (slowly moving ice mass) Ice Rise (grounded ice shelf) Sea Ice (frozen ocean water) TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Indian Antarctic Research Programme Indian Research Stations India, with its two Indian Antarctic research stations Maitri and Bharati, have also been contributing in routine scientific expeditions and scientific research. A Monitoring System is required pertaining to Bharati and Maitri, during the Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica during December – April . This will help in easy ship navigation as it has to cut through the sea ice TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Indian Research Stations: Bharati and Maitri TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Maitri and Surroundings:RISAT-1 FRS-1 FCC (RH, RV, RV-RH)- 30 Dec 2014 Maitri RS and Priyadarshini Lake Shivling Blue Ice TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 RISAT-1 FRS-1 FCC(rh/rv/rh-rv)- 30 Dec 2014 Priyadarshini Lake TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Bharati Peninsula and Surroundings FRS-1 28 Dec 2014-Mosaic (Two Scenes) Bharati Peninsula Academic Federo TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Bharati: 08 Feb 2015 LISS4 Bharati Research Stn Communication and Remote Sensing Antennae TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Ice Shelf What is an Ice Shelf ? A Thick, permanent, floating sheet of ice that is derived from terrestrial tributary glaciers. Ice shelves are floating ice, connected to the mainland. Ice shelves surround 75% of Antarctica’s coastline, and cover an area of over 1.561 million square kilometres TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Ice shelf: Explained TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Antarctic Ice Features: Specific Emphasise to Shelves XII International Symposium on Antarctic Earth TREES Training on “CryosphericSciencesApplications using Space Based Observations ” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Ice Shelf The ice shelf is in constant motion: rising with the tides, splitting off icebergs at its edges, and growing again as inland glaciers feed it. TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Ice Shelf and Sea Level Rise Ice Shelf, no matter how large, is free floating now (that is not sitting on solid ground on Antarctica) It has already raised sea level as much as it ever will. If a chunk of ice now sitting on solid land should somehow slide into the ocean or melt it would raise sea level accordingly. Take a glass and put 2-3 ice cubes in it then fill it with water until water level is to the top of the glass and let it sit. After the ice melts the water level will be exactly the same as before. TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Ice Shelf: Mass Gain Receive ice from Glaciers flowing into them from the mainland Accumulation from snow directly onto the ice shelf Sea water freezing onto the bottom of the ice shelf. TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Ice Shelf: Mass Loss Ice loss from shelves are followed by progressive thinning by warm ocean waters below, from excessive melting during a warm summer above. Ice Calving TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Antarctic Ice Shelves •Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf •Brunt Ice Shelf •Riiser-Larsen Ice Shelf Crosson Ice Shelf •Quar Ice Shelf Shackleton Ice Shelf Cosgrove Ice Shelf •Ekstrom Ice Shelf Voyeykov Ice Shelf Abbot Ice Shelf •Jelbart Ice Shelf Cook Ice Shelf Venable Ice Shelf •Fimbul Ice Shelf Slava Ice Shelf Stange Ice Shelf •Lazarev Ice Shelf Gillett Ice Shelf Bach Ice Shelf •King Baudouin Ice Shelf Nansen Ice Sheet George VI Ice Shelf •Hannan Ice Shelf McMurdo Ice Shelf Wilkins Ice Shelf •Zubchatyy Ice Shelf Ross Ice Shelf Larsen Ice Shelf •Wyers Ice Shelf Swinburne Ice Shelf Ronne Ice Shelf •Edward VIII Ice Shelf Sulzberger Ice Shelf •Amery Ice Shelf Nickerson Ice Shelf •Publications Ice Shelf Getz Ice Shelf Wordie Ice Shelf •West Ice Shelf Dotson Ice Shelf Jones Ice Shelf Moscow University Ice Müller Ice Shelf Shelf Prince Gustav Ice Shelf Larsen Ice Shelf (A) TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12Collapsed-10-2017 09:30 Ice -10:30 Shelves TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Fimbul Ice Shelf TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 WHY TO MONOTOR SHELF Ice shelves are important indicators of climate change As they play a role in the stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the ice sheet’s mass balance For ocean stratification and bottom water formation; this helps drive the world’s thermohaline circulation. Most mass loss from the Antarctic continent is from ice shelves, Most of this is from just a few small ice shelves around the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica. Melting from beneath ice shelves is one of the key ways in which the Antarctic Ice Sheet loses mass Icebergs cause hindrance to Navigation TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Decadal Changes on Antarctic Ice Margins TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Advancing and Retreating Shelves TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Ice Sheet Contribution Together, the ice sheets from Greenland and Antarctica hold more than 99% of the world’s freshwater ice. These are enormous stores of frozen water, held on land. If they fully melted, Greenland and Antarctic would respectively cause 7.2 m and 61.1 m of global sea level rise. As the climate changes, becoming either warmer or colder, important changes happen to these ice sheets at the pole. Increases in air temperature have two effects upon these large ice masses. TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Ice Sheet Contribution Warmer temperatures cause more evaporation from the oceans, and therefore more snow will fall on the ice sheet. However, higher temperature also cause heating of the ice sheet surface, leading to increased melting, at a rate greater than the increase in snowfall. As the edges of both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are in the ocean, the temperature of the ocean also has a large effect on ice sheets. Changes in ocean temperature can increase or decrease the amount of melting the ice sheet experiences, adding more or less water to the ocean. TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Difference between Ice shelf and Sea Ice Ice shelves are composed of ice derived from snowfall on land, but they also accrete marine ice from below Sea ice, which form solely from freezing marine water. TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Ice Calving Ice shelves intermittently calve large icebergs, which is a normal part of their ablation. Around Antarctica, ice shelves form where mean annual temperatures are less than -9°C, with sequential break up of ice shelves as temperatures increase. The geometry of the coastline is often important for determining where ice shelves will develop. TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Ice Shelves Collapse Several of the ice shelves around Antarctica have recently collapsed dramatically, rather than retreating in a slow and steady manner. Larsen A collapsed in 1995, and Larsen B Ice Shelf famously collapsed in 2002. It has shrunk from 12,000 km2 in 1963 to 2400 km2 in 2010. During February 2002, 3250 km2 were further lost through iceberg calving and fragmentation. Larsen C is recent calved even though collapse is not in near future TREES Training on “Cryospheric Applications using Space Based Observations” 12-10-2017 09:30 -10:30 Reasons for Collapse There are Ice shelves collapse in response to long term environmental changes, which cause on-going thinning and shrinking. When certain thresholds are passed, catastrophic ice shelf disintegration through iceberg calving is initiated.