Recent dynamic changes on Fleming Glacier after the disintegration of Wordie Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula

Friedl, Peter; Seehaus, Thorsten C.; Wendt, Anja; Braun, Matthias H.; Höppner, Kathrin

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1347-2018

Articles | Volume 12, issue 4

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1347-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1347-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 12, issue 4

Research article

|

13 Apr 2018

Research article |

| 13 Apr 2018

Recent dynamic changes on Fleming Glacier after the disintegration of Wordie Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula

Peter Friedl, Thorsten C. Seehaus, Anja Wendt, Matthias H. Braun, and Kathrin Höppner

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1347-2018-supplement

Data sets

Bedmap2 DEM British Antarctic Survey https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/bedmap-2/#data

Antarctic Peninsula modelled bedrock map M. Huss and D. Farinotti https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1261-2014-supplement

PIB ATM L1B elevation data W. B. Krabill https://doi.org/10.5067/8Q93SAT2LG3Q

CoRDS L2 ice thickness data C. Allen https://doi.org/10.5067/QKMTQ02C2U56

OIB ATM L1B elevation data W. B. Krabill https://doi.org/10.5067/19SIM5TXKPGT

MCoRDS L2 ice thickness data C. Leuschen, P. Gogineni, F. J. Rodriguez-Morales, J. Paden, and C. Allen https://doi.org/10.5067/GDQ0CUCVTE2Q

ICESat laser altimetry data H. J. Zwally, R. Schutz, C. Bentley, J. Bufton, T. Herring, J. Minster, J. Spinhirne, and R. Thomas https://doi.org/10.5067/ICESAT/GLAS/DATA225

1996 InSAR grounding line E. Rignot, J. Mouginot, and B. Scheuchl https://doi.org/10.5067/IKBWW4RYHF1Q

Short summary

Fleming Glacier is the biggest tributary glacier of the former Wordie Ice Shelf. Radar satellite data and airborne ice elevation measurements show that the glacier accelerated by ~27 % between 2008–2011 and that ice thinning increased by ~70 %. This was likely a response to a two-phase ungrounding of the glacier tongue between 2008 and 2011, which was mainly triggered by increased basal melt during two strong upwelling events of warm circumpolar deep water.