Publication Date:
2019
Description:
〈div data-abstract-type="normal"〉〈p〉We determined ice velocities for the Academy of Sciences Ice Cap, Severnaya Zemlya, Russian Arctic, during November 2016–November 2017, by feature-tracking 54 pairs of Sentinel-1 synthetic-aperture radar images. Seasonal velocity variations with amplitudes up to 10% of the yearly-averaged velocity were observed. Shorter-term (−1. The difference from an estimate of ~ 1.4 Gt a〈span〉−1〈/span〉 for 2003–2009 was attributed to the initiation of ice stream flow in Basin BC. The total geodetic mass balance over 2012–2016 was − 1.72 ± 0.67 Gt a〈span〉−1〈/span〉 (− 0.31 ± 0.12 m w.e. a〈span〉−1〈/span〉). The climatic mass balance was not significantly different from zero, at 0.21 ± 0.68 Gt a〈span〉−1〈/span〉 (0.04 ± 0.12 m w.e. a〈span〉−1〈/span〉), and has remained near zero at decadal-scale for the last four decades. Therefore, the total mass balance has been controlled largely by variations in ice discharge, whose long-term changes do not appear to have responded to environmental changes but to the intrinsic characteristics of the ice cap governing tidewater glacier dynamics.〈/p〉〈/div〉
Print ISSN:
0022-1430
Electronic ISSN:
1727-5652
Topics:
Geography
,
Geosciences
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