Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher.
                                            Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                            
                                                
                                             What is a DOI Number?
                                        
                                    
                                
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.
- 
            Tinto, K (Ed.)Understanding the submarine environment around Greenland is critical for understanding the impacts of future changes in sea level on marine habitats and coastal infrastructures, as well as revealing the past physical processes that sculpted the landscape. Here we investigate the submarine signature of a geologic boundary between Precambrian basement and Cretaceous-Paleocene sandstone off the coast of Aasiaat, Greenland. The study builds upon previous research in Krawcyk et al., 2022, and uses new data from the Greenland Rising Project to compare geologic maps, analyze bathymetry data, and examine backscatter measurements to help contribute to a better understanding of the boundary. Observations of exposed bedrock, and our interpretation of pockmarks observed on the seafloor guide the location of the boundary and suggest that the boundary extends further south than previously recognized. Characterizing this boundary supports a better understanding of marine ecosystems in Greenland and can be valuable for future environmental management decisions. Further data collection and analysis is recommended to better determine and identify the boundary in the futuremore » « less
- 
            Abstract The landscape hidden beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet remains one of the most sparsely mapped regions on Earth, but offers a unique record of environmental conditions prior to and during widespread glaciation, and of the ice sheet's response to changing climates. In particular, subglacial valleys observed across Greenland may preserve geomorphological information pertaining to landscape and ice sheet evolution. Here we analyze the morphology of a subglacial valley network in northern Greenland using bed elevation measurements acquired during multi‐year airborne radio‐echo sounding surveys. Channel profile morphologies are consistent with a primarily fluvial origin of the network, with evidence for localized modification by ice and/or meltwater. Gravity and magnetic anomalies suggest that the spatial organisation of the valley network is influenced by regional‐scale geological structure, implying a long‐lived and well‐established hydrological system. We also document two knickzones in the valley longitudinal profile and terraces above the channel floor in the lower course of the network. These observations, combined with stream power modeling, indicate that northern Greenland experienced two episodes of relative base level fall during the Neogene (∼150 m at ca. 12–3.7 Ma and ∼380 m at ca. 8.2–2.8 Ma) that resulted in channel profile adjustment via incision and knickzone retreat. The timing of the inferred base level fall correlates with other onshore and offshore records of uplift, denudation, and/or relative sea level change, and we suggest that tectonic and/or mantle‐driven uplift played an important role in the genesis of the modern landscape of northern Greenland.more » « less
- 
            null (Ed.)Abstract. Ice shelves play a critical role in the long-termstability of ice sheets through their buttressing effect. The underlyingbathymetry and cavity thickness are key inputs for modelling future icesheet evolution. However, direct observation of sub-ice-shelf bathymetry istime-consuming, logistically risky, and in some areas simply not possible.Here we use new compilations of airborne and marine gravity, radar depthsounding, and swath bathymetry to provide new estimates of sub-ice-shelfbathymetry outboard of the rapidly changing West Antarctic Thwaites Glacierand beneath the adjacent Dotson and Crosson ice shelves. This region is ofspecial interest, as the low-lying inland reverse slope of the ThwaitesGlacier system makes it vulnerable to marine ice sheet instability, withrapid grounding line retreat observed since 1993 suggesting this process maybe underway. Our results confirm a major marine channel >800 mdeep extends tens of kilometres to the front of Thwaites Glacier, while theadjacent ice shelves are underlain by more complex bathymetry. Comparison ofour new bathymetry with ice shelf draft reveals that ice shelves formedsince 1993 comprise a distinct population where the draft conforms closelyto the underlying bathymetry, unlike the older ice shelves, which show a moreuniform depth of the ice base. This indicates that despite rapid basalmelting in some areas, these recently floated parts of the ice shelf are notyet in dynamic equilibrium with their retreated grounding line positions andthe underlying ocean system, a factor which must be included in futuremodels of this region's evolution.more » « less
- 
            We present here Bedmap3, the latest suite of gridded products describing surface elevation, ice-thickness and the seafloor and subglacial bed elevation of Antarctica south of 60degS. Bedmap3 incorporates and adds to all post-1950s datasets previously used for Bedmap1 and Bedmap2, including 84 new aero-geophysical surveys by 15 data providers, an additional 52 million data points and 1.9 million line-kilometres of measurement. This has filled notable gaps in East Antarctica, including the South Pole and Pensacola basin, Dronning Maud Land, Recovery Glacier and Dome Fuji, Princess Elizabeth Land, plus the Antarctic Peninsula, West Antarctic coastlines, and the Transantarctic Mountains. Our new Bedmap3/RINGS grounding line similarly consolidates multiple recent mappings into a single, spatially coherent feature. Combined with updated maps of surface topography, ice shelf thickness, rock outcrops and bathymetry, Bedmap3 reveals in much greater detail the subglacial landscape and distribution of Antarctica's ice, providing new opportunities to interpret continental-scale landscape evolution and to model in detail the past and future evolution of the Antarctic ice sheets. Sponsored by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the Bedmap3 Action group aims to produce a new map and datasets of Antarctic ice thickness and bed topography for the international scientific community. The associated Bedmap datasets are listed here: https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/bedmap/#datamore » « less
- 
            Abstract The Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica is a region that is key to a range of climatic and oceanographic processes with worldwide effects, and is characterised by high biological productivity and biodiversity. Since 2013, the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) has represented the most comprehensive compilation of bathymetry for the Southern Ocean south of 60°S. Recently, the IBCSO Project has combined its efforts with the Nippon Foundation – GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project supporting the goal of mapping the world’s oceans by 2030. New datasets initiated a second version of IBCSO (IBCSO v2). This version extends to 50°S (covering approximately 2.4 times the area of seafloor of the previous version) including the gateways of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Antarctic circumpolar frontal systems. Due to increased (multibeam) data coverage, IBCSO v2 significantly improves the overall representation of the Southern Ocean seafloor and resolves many submarine landforms in more detail. This makes IBCSO v2 the most authoritative seafloor map of the area south of 50°S.more » « less
- 
            Abstract George VI Sound is an ~600 km‐long curvilinear channel on the west coast of the southern Antarctic Peninsula separating Alexander Island from Palmer Land. The Sound is a geologically complex region presently covered by the George VI Ice Shelf. Here we model the bathymetry using aerogravity data. Our model is constrained by water depths from seismic measurements. We present a crustal density model for the region, propose a relocation for a major fault in the Sound, and reveal a dense body, ~200 km long, flanking the Palmer Land side. The southern half of the Sound consists of two distinct basins ~1,100 m deep, separated by a −650 m‐deep ridge. This constricting ridge presents a potential barrier to ocean circulation beneath the ice shelf and may account for observed differences in temperature‐salinity (T‐S) profiles.more » « less
- 
            Abstract. One of the key components of this research has been the mapping of Antarctic bed topography and ice thickness parameters that are crucial for modelling ice flow and hence for predicting future ice loss andthe ensuing sea level rise. Supported by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the Bedmap3 Action Group aims not only to produce newgridded maps of ice thickness and bed topography for the internationalscientific community, but also to standardize and make available all thegeophysical survey data points used in producing the Bedmap griddedproducts. Here, we document the survey data used in the latest iteration,Bedmap3, incorporating and adding to all of the datasets previously used forBedmap1 and Bedmap2, including ice bed, surface and thickness point data from all Antarctic geophysical campaigns since the 1950s. More specifically,we describe the processes used to standardize and make these and futuresurveys and gridded datasets accessible under the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data principles. With the goals of making the gridding process reproducible and allowing scientists to re-use the data freely for their own analysis, we introduce the new SCAR Bedmap Data Portal(https://bedmap.scar.org, last access: 1 March 2023) created to provideunprecedented open access to these important datasets through a web-map interface. We believe that this data release will be a valuable asset to Antarctic research and will greatly extend the life cycle of the data heldwithin it. Data are available from the UK Polar Data Centre: https://data.bas.ac.uk (last access: 5 May 2023). See the Data availability section for the complete list of datasets.more » « less
- 
            Abstract From 2015 to 2017, theROSETTA‐Ice project comprehensively mapped Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf using IcePod, a newly developed aerogeophysical platform. The campaign imaged the ice‐shelf surface with lidar and its internal structure with ice‐penetrating radar. TheROSETTA‐Ice data was combined with pre‐existing ice surface and bed topography digital elevation models to create the first augmented reality (AR) visualisation of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, using the Microsoft HoloLens. TheROSETTA‐Ice datasets support cross‐disciplinary science that aims to understand 4D processes, namely the change of 3D ice‐shelf structures over time. The work presented here usesARto visualise this dataset in 3D and highlights howARcan be simultaneously a useful research tool for interdisciplinary geoscience as well as an effective device for science communication education.more » « less
- 
            Abstract Basal melting of ice shelves is a major source of mass loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet. In situ measurements of ice shelf basal melt rates are sparse, while the more extensive estimates from satellite altimetry require precise information about firn density and characteristics of near‐surface layers. We describe a novel method for estimating multidecadal basal melt rates using airborne ice penetrating radar data acquired during a 3‐year survey of the Ross Ice Shelf. These data revealed an ice column with distinct upper and lower units whose thicknesses change as ice flows from the grounding line toward the ice front. We interpret the lower unit as continental meteoric ice that has flowed across the grounding line and the upper unit as ice formed from snowfall onto the relatively flat ice shelf. We used the ice thickness difference and strain‐induced thickness change of the lower unit between the survey lines, combined with ice velocities, to derive basal melt rates averaged over one to six decades. Our results are similar to satellite laser altimetry estimates for the period 2003–2009, suggesting that the Ross Ice Shelf melt rates have been fairly stable for several decades. We identify five sites of elevated basal melt rates, in the range 0.5–2 m a−1, near the ice shelf front. These hot spots indicate pathways into the sub‐ice‐shelf ocean cavity for warm seawater, likely a combination of summer‐warmed Antarctic Surface Water and modified Circumpolar Deep Water, and are potential areas of ice shelf weakening if the ocean warms.more » « less
 An official website of the United States government
An official website of the United States government 
				
			 
					 
					
