Science Source
Widespread, rapid grounding line retreat of Pine Island, Thwaites, Smith, and Kohler glaciers, West Antarctica, from 1992 to 2011
- Measures the grounding line retreat of glaciers draining the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica using Earth Remote Sensing (ERS-1/2) satellite radar interferometry from 1992 to 2011
- Finds that
- The Pine Island Glacier retreated 31 km at its center, with most retreat in 2005–2009 when the glacier ungrounded from its ice plain
- The Thwaites Glacier retreated 14 km along its fast flow core and 1 to 9 km along the sides
- The Haynes Glacier retreated 10 km along its flanks
- The FniSmith/Kohler glaciers retreated the most, 35 km along its ice plain, and its ice shelf pinning points are vanishing
- States that these rapid retreats proceed along regions of retrograde bed elevation mapped at a high spatial resolution using a mass conservation technique that removes residual ambiguities from prior mappings
- Finds no major bed obstacle upstream of the 2011 grounding line positions that would prevent the glaciers from further retreat and draw down the entire basin
Related Content
Headline
![](/sites/default/files/styles/card_resource/public/headlines/glacier.jpg?itok=nOLjc6eS)
Jan 29, 2020 | BBC News
Journey to the 'doomsday glacier'
Headline
![](/sites/default/files/styles/card_resource/public/headlines/antarctic_min_max_20191119_620.png?itok=M_-Zt6FX)
Nov 22, 2019 | NOAA Climate.gov
Understanding climate: Antarctic sea ice extent
Headline
![](/sites/default/files/styles/card_resource/public/headlines/glacier_lakes.jpg?itok=3XE7drm2)
Mar 26, 2019 | The Guardian
Australian researchers find huge lakes beneath largest east Antarctic glacier
Science Source
| Geophysical Research Letters
Mass Loss of Totten and Moscow University Glaciers, East Antarctica, Using Regionally Optimized GRACE Mascons
Yara Mohajerani, Isabella Velicogna, Eric Rignot