Articles | Volume 15, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3355-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3355-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 Jul 2021
Research article |
| 21 Jul 2021
| 21 Jul 2021
Surges of Harald Moltke Bræ, north-western Greenland: seasonal modulation and initiation at the terminus
Lukas Müller
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Technische Universität Dresden, Institut für Planetare Geodäsie, Dresden, Germany
Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Martin Horwath
Technische Universität Dresden, Institut für Planetare Geodäsie, Dresden, Germany
Mirko Scheinert
Technische Universität Dresden, Institut für Planetare Geodäsie, Dresden, Germany
Christoph Mayer
Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Munich, Germany
Benjamin Ebermann
Technische Universität Dresden, Institut für Planetare Geodäsie, Dresden, Germany
Dana Floricioiu
German Aerospace Center, Wessling, Germany
Lukas Krieger
German Aerospace Center, Wessling, Germany
Ralf Rosenau
Technische Universität Dresden, Institut für Planetare Geodäsie, Dresden, Germany
Saurabh Vijay
DTU Space – National Space Institute, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Byrd Polar & Climate Research Center, Columbus, USA
Related authors
No articles found.
Theresa Dobler, Wilfried Hagg, Martin Rückamp, Thorsten Seehaus, and Christoph Mayer
The Cryosphere, 20, 2531–2555, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-2531-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-2531-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how a glacier in the Austrian Alps moves more slowly over time due to climate change. By combining long-term field data with recent aerial images, we show how thinning reduce glacier flow. Our findings help understand changes in glacier behavior in a warming climate.
Akash M. Patil, Christoph Mayer, Theo M. Jenk, Astrid Lambrecht, Thorsten Seehaus, Alexander R. Groos, and Michelle Worek
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1721, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1721, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
Our study focused on understanding how a warming climate affects the Aletsch glacier accumulation area. We used multi-year radar measurements and direct firn‑core analyses to estimate changes in density, layering, and compaction of snow-to-ice over a year. Our results show that the upper layers of the glacier are changing faster due to stronger summer melt in the lower parts of the accumulation zone. Our findings help to improve firn densification models and glacier mass-balance estimation.
Francesca Pellicciotti, Adrià Fontrodona-Bach, David R. Rounce, Catriona L. Fyffe, Leif S. Anderson, Álvaro Ayala, Ben W. Brock, Pascal Buri, Stefan Fugger, Koji Fujita, Prateek Gantayat, Alexander R. Groos, Walter Immerzeel, Marin Kneib, Christoph Mayer, Shelley MacDonell, Michael McCarthy, James McPhee, Evan Miles, Heather Purdie, Ekaterina Rets, Akiko Sakai, Thomas E. Shaw, Jakob Steiner, Patrick Wagnon, and Alex Winter-Billington
The Cryosphere, 20, 1895–1928, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Rock debris covers many of the world glaciers, modifying the transfer of atmospheric energy to the debris and into the ice. Models of different complexity simulate this process, and we compare 15 models at 9 sites to show that the most complex models at the debris-atmosphere interface have the highest performance. However, we lack debris properties and their derivation from measurements is ambiguous, hindering global modelling and calling for both model development and data collection.
Lea Hartl, Jakob Abermann, Ayla Akgün, Giulia Bertolotti, Tobias Bolch, Svenja Conzelmann, Codrut-Andrei Diaconu, Iris Hansche, Anne Hartig, Anna Haut, Kay Helfricht, Bernhard Hynek, Marie Sophie Kaucher, Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Ann Christin Kogel, Julie Krippes, Marcela Violeta Lauria, Christoph Mayer, Jan-Christoph Otto, Rainer Prinz, Sina Prölß, Lorenzo Rieg, Lea Schönleber, Gabriele Schwaizer, Bernd Seiser, Martin Stocker-Waldhuber, Markus Strudl, Martin Verhounik, and Harald Zandler
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1241, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1241, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
We mapped glacier outlines in Austria using recent, high resolution imagery. The resulting glacier inventory provides an update on glacier area in Austria in 2021-2023. More than 30% of glacier area was lost and 95 glaciers have disappeared since the mid-2000s. Glacier recession is accelerating and regular updates to glacier inventories are needed to understand downstream changes to the hydrological system, quantify glacier mass loss, and support planning and adaptation measures.
Mirko Scheinert, Weisen Shen, Richard C. Aster, Lambert Caron, Michael D. Hartinger, Matt A. King, Andrew Lloyd, Anya M. Reading, J. Paul Winberry, Terry Wilson, Lucilla Alfonsi, Michael J. Bentley, Eric Buchta, Thomas Y. Chen, Peter J. Clarke, Jörg Ebbing, Olaf Eisen, Natalya Gomez, Esra Günaydın, Samantha Hansen, Erik R. Ivins, Achraf Koulali, Grace A. Nield, Frederick Richards, Mahmut O. Selbesoglu, Stephanie Sherman, Pippa L. Whitehouse, and Matthias Willen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6370, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6370, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
With an ongoing mass loss the Antarctic Ice Sheet contributes to global-mean sea level rise at a rate of 0.4 mm/a. Thus, it plays a key role in global climate and provides a natural laboratory to study processes that interlink cryosphere, solid Earth, atmosphere and ocean. We discuss how GNSS and seismic networks in Antarctica were used to significantly advance our understanding of these processes, and how they should be maintained and extended to answer key science questions in the future.
Maria T. Kappelsberger, Johan Nilsson, Martin Horwath, Veit Helm, and Alex S. Gardner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5745, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5745, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We compare surface elevation changes of the Antarctic Ice Sheet interior as derived from satellite radar altimetry and laser altimetry between 2019 and 2024. Both methods indicate an increase in surface elevation across most of the study area, coinciding with an episode of excess snow accumulation as modelled. However, rates of surface elevation increase from radar altimetry are systematically lower than those from laser altimetry.
Akash M. Patil, Christoph Mayer, Thorsten Seehaus, Alexander R. Groos, and Andreas Bauder
The Cryosphere, 19, 5547–5577, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5547-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5547-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how the density of snow to ice transition varies with depth in the Aletsch glacier using radar-based field measurements and some simple models. We showed that it is possible to track how much snow has accumulated in the last 10–14 years. This helps improve the uncertainties in glacier mass balance estimates. Overall, by utilising non-invasive radar techniques and models, we provide a novel approach to understanding the evolution of glaciers under regional climate conditions.
Martin Rückamp, Gong Cheng, Karlheinz Gutjahr, Marco Möller, Petri K. E. Pellikka, and Christoph Mayer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3150, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3150, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The study simulates the 21st-century evolution of Great Aletsch Glacier and Hintereisferner using full-Stokes ice dynamics and surface mass balance under different emission scenarios. Results show significant ice loss, with Hintereisferner expected to disappear by mid-century. Great Aletsch Glacier vanish by the end of the century under high-emission scenarios, but persist under lower-emission scenarios. These trends agree with large-scale models except some variability.
Sindhu Ramanath, Lukas Krieger, Dana Floricioiu, Codruț-Andrei Diaconu, and Konrad Heidler
The Cryosphere, 19, 2431–2455, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2431-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2431-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Grounding lines are geophysical features that divide ice masses on the bedrock and floating ice shelves. Their accurate location is required for calculating the mass balance of ice sheets and glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland. Human experts still manually detect them in satellite-based interferometric radar images, which is inefficient given the growing volume of data. We have developed an artificial-intelligence-based automatic detection algorithm to generate Antarctica-wide grounding lines.
Torsten Kanzow, Angelika Humbert, Thomas Mölg, Mirko Scheinert, Matthias Braun, Hans Burchard, Francesca Doglioni, Philipp Hochreuther, Martin Horwath, Oliver Huhn, Maria Kappelsberger, Jürgen Kusche, Erik Loebel, Katrina Lutz, Ben Marzeion, Rebecca McPherson, Mahdi Mohammadi-Aragh, Marco Möller, Carolyne Pickler, Markus Reinert, Monika Rhein, Martin Rückamp, Janin Schaffer, Muhammad Shafeeque, Sophie Stolzenberger, Ralph Timmermann, Jenny Turton, Claudia Wekerle, and Ole Zeising
The Cryosphere, 19, 1789–1824, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1789-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1789-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The Greenland Ice Sheet represents the second-largest contributor to global sea-level rise. We quantify atmosphere, ice and ocean processes related to the mass balance of glaciers in northeast Greenland, focusing on Greenland’s largest floating ice tongue, the 79° N Glacier. We find that together, the different in situ and remote sensing observations and model simulations reveal a consistent picture of a coupled atmosphere–ice sheet–ocean system that has entered a phase of major change.
Eric Buchta, Mirko Scheinert, Matt A. King, Terry Wilson, Achraf Koulali, Peter J. Clarke, Demián Gómez, Eric Kendrick, Christoph Knöfel, and Peter Busch
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1761–1780, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1761-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1761-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Geodetic GPS measurements in Antarctica have been used to track bedrock displacement, which is vital for understanding geodynamic processes such as plate motion and glacial isostatic adjustment. However, the potential of GPS data has been limited by its partially fragmented availability and unreliable metadata. A new dataset, which spans the period from 1995 to 2021, offers consistently processed coordinate time series for 286 GPS sites and promises to enhance future geodynamic research.
Christoph Dahle, Eva Boergens, Ingo Sasgen, Thorben Döhne, Sven Reißland, Henryk Dobslaw, Volker Klemann, Michael Murböck, Rolf König, Robert Dill, Mike Sips, Ulrike Sylla, Andreas Groh, Martin Horwath, and Frank Flechtner
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 611–631, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-611-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-611-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
GRACE and GRACE-FO are unique observing systems to quantify mass changes at the Earth’s surface from space. Time series of these mass changes are of high value for various applications, e.g., in hydrology, glaciology, and oceanography. GravIS (Gravity Information Service) provides easy access to user-friendly, regularly updated mass anomaly products. The portal visualizes and describes these data, aiming to highlight their significance for understanding changes in the climate system.
Erik Loebel, Celia A. Baumhoer, Andreas Dietz, Mirko Scheinert, and Martin Horwath
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 65–78, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-65-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-65-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Glacier calving front positions are important for understanding glacier dynamics and constraining ice modelling. We apply a deep-learning framework to multi-spectral Landsat imagery to create a calving front record for 42 key outlet glaciers of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet. The resulting data product includes 4817 calving front locations from 2013 to 2023 and achieves sub-seasonal temporal resolution.
Abelardo Romero, Andreas Richter, Amilcar Juarez, Federico Suad Corbetta, Eric Marderwald, Pedro Granovsky, Thorben Döhne, and Martin Horwath
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-2-W6-2024, 51–58, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-2-W6-2024-51-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-2-W6-2024-51-2024, 2024
Katrina Lutz, Lily Bever, Christian Sommer, Thorsten Seehaus, Angelika Humbert, Mirko Scheinert, and Matthias Braun
The Cryosphere, 18, 5431–5449, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5431-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5431-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The estimation of the amount of water found within supraglacial lakes is important for understanding how much water is lost from glaciers each year. Here, we develop two new methods for estimating supraglacial lake volume that can be easily applied on a large scale. Furthermore, we compare these methods to two previously developed methods in order to determine when it is best to use each method. Finally, three of these methods are applied to peak melt dates over an area in Northeast Greenland.
Maria T. Kappelsberger, Martin Horwath, Eric Buchta, Matthias O. Willen, Ludwig Schröder, Sanne B. M. Veldhuijsen, Peter Kuipers Munneke, and Michiel R. van den Broeke
The Cryosphere, 18, 4355–4378, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4355-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4355-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The interannual variations in the height of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) are mainly due to natural variations in snowfall. Precise knowledge of these variations is important for the detection of any long-term climatic trends in AIS surface elevation. We present a new product that spatially resolves these height variations over the period 1992–2017. The product combines the strengths of atmospheric modeling results and satellite altimetry measurements.
Veit Helm, Alireza Dehghanpour, Ronny Hänsch, Erik Loebel, Martin Horwath, and Angelika Humbert
The Cryosphere, 18, 3933–3970, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3933-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3933-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present a new approach (AWI-ICENet1), based on a deep convolutional neural network, for analysing satellite radar altimeter measurements to accurately determine the surface height of ice sheets. Surface height estimates obtained with AWI-ICENet1 (along with related products, such as ice sheet height change and volume change) show improved and unbiased results compared to other products. This is important for the long-term monitoring of ice sheet mass loss and its impact on sea level rise.
Erik Loebel, Mirko Scheinert, Martin Horwath, Angelika Humbert, Julia Sohn, Konrad Heidler, Charlotte Liebezeit, and Xiao Xiang Zhu
The Cryosphere, 18, 3315–3332, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3315-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3315-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Comprehensive datasets of calving-front changes are essential for studying and modeling outlet glaciers. Current records are limited in temporal resolution due to manual delineation. We use deep learning to automatically delineate calving fronts for 23 glaciers in Greenland. Resulting time series resolve long-term, seasonal, and subseasonal patterns. We discuss the implications of our results and provide the cryosphere community with a data product and an implementation of our processing system.
Livia Piermattei, Michael Zemp, Christian Sommer, Fanny Brun, Matthias H. Braun, Liss M. Andreassen, Joaquín M. C. Belart, Etienne Berthier, Atanu Bhattacharya, Laura Boehm Vock, Tobias Bolch, Amaury Dehecq, Inés Dussaillant, Daniel Falaschi, Caitlyn Florentine, Dana Floricioiu, Christian Ginzler, Gregoire Guillet, Romain Hugonnet, Matthias Huss, Andreas Kääb, Owen King, Christoph Klug, Friedrich Knuth, Lukas Krieger, Jeff La Frenierre, Robert McNabb, Christopher McNeil, Rainer Prinz, Louis Sass, Thorsten Seehaus, David Shean, Désirée Treichler, Anja Wendt, and Ruitang Yang
The Cryosphere, 18, 3195–3230, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Satellites have made it possible to observe glacier elevation changes from all around the world. In the present study, we compared the results produced from two different types of satellite data between different research groups and against validation measurements from aeroplanes. We found a large spread between individual results but showed that the group ensemble can be used to reliably estimate glacier elevation changes and related errors from satellite data.
Anna Wendleder, Jasmin Bramboeck, Jamie Izzard, Thilo Erbertseder, Pablo d'Angelo, Andreas Schmitt, Duncan J. Quincey, Christoph Mayer, and Matthias H. Braun
The Cryosphere, 18, 1085–1103, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1085-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1085-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study analyses the basal sliding and the hydrological drainage of Baltoro Glacier, Pakistan. The surface velocity was characterized by a spring speed-up, summer peak, and autumn speed-up. Snow melt has the largest impact on the spring speed-up, summer velocity peak, and the transition from inefficient to efficient drainage. Drainage from supraglacial lakes contributed to the fall speed-up. Increased summer temperatures will intensify the magnitude of meltwater and thus surface velocities.
Matthias O. Willen, Martin Horwath, Eric Buchta, Mirko Scheinert, Veit Helm, Bernd Uebbing, and Jürgen Kusche
The Cryosphere, 18, 775–790, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-775-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-775-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Shrinkage of the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) leads to sea level rise. Satellite gravimetry measures AIS mass changes. We apply a new method that overcomes two limitations: low spatial resolution and large uncertainties due to the Earth's interior mass changes. To do so, we additionally include data from satellite altimetry and climate and firn modelling, which are evaluated in a globally consistent way with thoroughly characterized errors. The results are in better agreement with independent data.
Reinhard Dietrich, Christoph Knöfel, Mirko Scheinert, and Ralf Rosenau
Polarforschung, 92, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-92-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-92-1-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Drygalski führte in den Jahren 1891 und 1892/93 Forschungsarbeiten in Westgrönland durch, wobei zur Überwinterung eine Forschungsstation am Großen Karajak-Gletscher errichtetet wurde. An gleicher Stelle erfolgten durch die TU Dresden 2007 und 2019 geodätische Feldarbeiten. Im Beitrag werden das Areal der damaligen Station sowie die Forschungsarbeiten Drygalskis vorgestellt. Ein Vergleich mit heutigen Messungen zeigt, dass sich der Große Karajak-Gletscher in 120 Jahren kaum verändert hat.
Alexandra M. Zuhr, Erik Loebel, Marek Muchow, Donovan Dennis, Luisa von Albedyll, Frigga Kruse, Heidemarie Kassens, Johanna Grabow, Dieter Piepenburg, Sören Brandt, Rainer Lehmann, Marlene Jessen, Friederike Krüger, Monika Kallfelz, Andreas Preußer, Matthias Braun, Thorsten Seehaus, Frank Lisker, Daniela Röhnert, and Mirko Scheinert
Polarforschung, 91, 73–80, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-91-73-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-91-73-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Polar research is an interdisciplinary and multi-faceted field of research. Its diversity ranges from history to geology and geophysics to social sciences and education. This article provides insights into the different areas of German polar research. This was made possible by a seminar series, POLARSTUNDE, established in the summer of 2020 and organized by the German Society of Polar Research and the German National Committee of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS Germany).
Angelika Graiff, Matthias Braun, Amelie Driemel, Jörg Ebbing, Hans-Peter Grossart, Tilmann Harder, Joseph I. Hoffman, Boris Koch, Florian Leese, Judith Piontek, Mirko Scheinert, Petra Quillfeldt, Jonas Zimmermann, and Ulf Karsten
Polarforschung, 91, 45–57, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-91-45-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-91-45-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
There are many approaches to better understanding Antarctic processes that generate very large data sets (
Antarctic big data). For these large data sets there is a pressing need for improved data acquisition, curation, integration, service, and application to support fundamental scientific research, and this article describes and evaluates the current status of big data in various Antarctic scientific disciplines, identifies current gaps, and provides solutions to fill these gaps.
Hannah J. Picton, Chris R. Stokes, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Dana Floricioiu, and Lukas Krieger
The Cryosphere, 17, 3593–3616, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3593-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3593-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides an overview of recent ice dynamics within Vincennes Bay, Wilkes Land, East Antarctica. This region was recently discovered to be vulnerable to intrusions of warm water capable of driving basal melt. Our results show extensive grounding-line retreat at Vanderford Glacier, estimated at 18.6 km between 1996 and 2020. This supports the notion that the warm water is able to access deep cavities below the Vanderford Ice Shelf, potentially making Vanderford Glacier unstable.
Fanny Brun, Owen King, Marion Réveillet, Charles Amory, Anton Planchot, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Kévin Fourteau, Julien Brondex, Marie Dumont, Christoph Mayer, Silvan Leinss, Romain Hugonnet, and Patrick Wagnon
The Cryosphere, 17, 3251–3268, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The South Col Glacier is a small body of ice and snow located on the southern ridge of Mt. Everest. A recent study proposed that South Col Glacier is rapidly losing mass. In this study, we examined the glacier thickness change for the period 1984–2017 and found no thickness change. To reconcile these results, we investigate wind erosion and surface energy and mass balance and find that melt is unlikely a dominant process, contrary to previous findings.
Lena Katharina Schmidt, Till Francke, Peter Martin Grosse, Christoph Mayer, and Axel Bronstert
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 1841–1863, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1841-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-1841-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present a suitable method to reconstruct sediment export from decadal records of hydroclimatic predictors (discharge, precipitation, temperature) and shorter suspended sediment measurements. This lets us fill the knowledge gap on how sediment export from glacierized high-alpine areas has responded to climate change. We find positive trends in sediment export from the two investigated nested catchments with step-like increases around 1981 which are linked to crucial changes in glacier melt.
Inès N. Otosaka, Andrew Shepherd, Erik R. Ivins, Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel, Charles Amory, Michiel R. van den Broeke, Martin Horwath, Ian Joughin, Michalea D. King, Gerhard Krinner, Sophie Nowicki, Anthony J. Payne, Eric Rignot, Ted Scambos, Karen M. Simon, Benjamin E. Smith, Louise S. Sørensen, Isabella Velicogna, Pippa L. Whitehouse, Geruo A, Cécile Agosta, Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Alejandro Blazquez, William Colgan, Marcus E. Engdahl, Xavier Fettweis, Rene Forsberg, Hubert Gallée, Alex Gardner, Lin Gilbert, Noel Gourmelen, Andreas Groh, Brian C. Gunter, Christopher Harig, Veit Helm, Shfaqat Abbas Khan, Christoph Kittel, Hannes Konrad, Peter L. Langen, Benoit S. Lecavalier, Chia-Chun Liang, Bryant D. Loomis, Malcolm McMillan, Daniele Melini, Sebastian H. Mernild, Ruth Mottram, Jeremie Mouginot, Johan Nilsson, Brice Noël, Mark E. Pattle, William R. Peltier, Nadege Pie, Mònica Roca, Ingo Sasgen, Himanshu V. Save, Ki-Weon Seo, Bernd Scheuchl, Ernst J. O. Schrama, Ludwig Schröder, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Thomas Slater, Giorgio Spada, Tyler C. Sutterley, Bramha Dutt Vishwakarma, Jan Melchior van Wessem, David Wiese, Wouter van der Wal, and Bert Wouters
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1597–1616, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1597-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1597-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
By measuring changes in the volume, gravitational attraction, and ice flow of Greenland and Antarctica from space, we can monitor their mass gain and loss over time. Here, we present a new record of the Earth’s polar ice sheet mass balance produced by aggregating 50 satellite-based estimates of ice sheet mass change. This new assessment shows that the ice sheets have lost (7.5 x 1012) t of ice between 1992 and 2020, contributing 21 mm to sea level rise.
Vasaw Tripathi, Andreas Groh, Martin Horwath, and Raaj Ramsankaran
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4515–4535, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4515-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4515-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
GRACE/GRACE-FO provided global observations of water storage change since 2002. Scaling is a common approach to compensate for the spatial filtering inherent to the results. However, for complex hydrological basins, the compatibility of scaling with the characteristics of regional hydrology has been rarely assessed. We assess traditional scaling approaches and a new scaling approach for the Indus Basin. Our results will help users with regional focus understand implications of scaling choices.
Astrid Oetting, Emma C. Smith, Jan Erik Arndt, Boris Dorschel, Reinhard Drews, Todd A. Ehlers, Christoph Gaedicke, Coen Hofstede, Johann P. Klages, Gerhard Kuhn, Astrid Lambrecht, Andreas Läufer, Christoph Mayer, Ralf Tiedemann, Frank Wilhelms, and Olaf Eisen
The Cryosphere, 16, 2051–2066, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2051-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2051-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study combines a variety of geophysical measurements in front of and beneath the Ekström Ice Shelf in order to identify and interpret geomorphological evidences of past ice sheet flow, extent and retreat.
The maximal extent of grounded ice in this region was 11 km away from the continental shelf break.
The thickness of palaeo-ice on the calving front around the LGM was estimated to be at least 305 to 320 m.
We provide essential boundary conditions for palaeo-ice-sheet models.
Martin Horwath, Benjamin D. Gutknecht, Anny Cazenave, Hindumathi Kulaiappan Palanisamy, Florence Marti, Ben Marzeion, Frank Paul, Raymond Le Bris, Anna E. Hogg, Inès Otosaka, Andrew Shepherd, Petra Döll, Denise Cáceres, Hannes Müller Schmied, Johnny A. Johannessen, Jan Even Øie Nilsen, Roshin P. Raj, René Forsberg, Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Valentina R. Barletta, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Per Knudsen, Ole Baltazar Andersen, Heidi Ranndal, Stine K. Rose, Christopher J. Merchant, Claire R. Macintosh, Karina von Schuckmann, Kristin Novotny, Andreas Groh, Marco Restano, and Jérôme Benveniste
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 411–447, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-411-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-411-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Global mean sea-level change observed from 1993 to 2016 (mean rate of 3.05 mm yr−1) matches the combined effect of changes in water density (thermal expansion) and ocean mass. Ocean-mass change has been assessed through the contributions from glaciers, ice sheets, and land water storage or directly from satellite data since 2003. Our budget assessments of linear trends and monthly anomalies utilise new datasets and uncertainty characterisations developed within ESA's Climate Change Initiative.
Helmut Rott, Stefan Scheiblauer, Jan Wuite, Lukas Krieger, Dana Floricioiu, Paola Rizzoli, Ludivine Libert, and Thomas Nagler
The Cryosphere, 15, 4399–4419, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4399-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4399-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We studied relations between interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) signals and snow–firn properties and tested procedures for correcting the penetration bias of InSAR digital elevation models at Union Glacier, Antarctica. The work is based on SAR data of the TanDEM-X mission, topographic data from optical sensors and field measurements. We provide new insights on radar signal interactions with polar snow and show the performance of penetration bias retrievals using InSAR coherence.
Yuting Dong, Ji Zhao, Dana Floricioiu, Lukas Krieger, Thomas Fritz, and Michael Eineder
The Cryosphere, 15, 4421–4443, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4421-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4421-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We generated a consistent, gapless and high-resolution (12 m) topography product of the Antarctic Peninsula by combining the complementary advantages of the two most recent high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) products: the TanDEM-X DEM and the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica. The generated DEM maintains the characteristics of the TanDEM-X DEM, has a better quality due to the correction of the residual height errors in the non-edited TanDEM-X DEM and will be freely available.
Joschka Geissler, Christoph Mayer, Juilson Jubanski, Ulrich Münzer, and Florian Siegert
The Cryosphere, 15, 3699–3717, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3699-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3699-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The study demonstrates the potential of photogrammetry for analyzing glacier retreat with high spatial resolution. Twenty-three glaciers within the Ötztal Alps are analyzed. We compare photogrammetric and glaciologic mass balances of the Vernagtferner by using the ELA for our density assumption and an UAV survey for a temporal correction of the geodetic mass balances. The results reveal regions of anomalous mass balance and allow estimates of the imbalance between mass balances and ice dynamics.
Christoph Mayer, Markus Weber, Anja Wendt, and Wilfried Hagg
Polarforschung, 89, 1–7, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-89-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-89-1-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Only five small glaciers exist in the German part of the Alps. They are too small to play an important role in the regional hydrological system, but are significant remnants of the earlier glaciation of the northern Alps. Therefore, they have been mapped already in the 19th century and are monitored since about 1950. A survey in 2018 documents the recent status of the glaciers. The synthesis of the long term monitoring and an estimate of the future for these small ice bodies is presented here.
Mirko Scheinert, Christoph Mayer, Martin Horwath, Matthias Braun, Anja Wendt, and Daniel Steinhage
Polarforschung, 89, 57–64, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-89-57-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/polf-89-57-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Ice sheets, glaciers and further ice-covered areas with their changes as well as interactions with the solid Earth and the ocean are subject of intensive research, especially against the backdrop of global climate change. The resulting questions are of concern to scientists from various disciplines such as geodesy, glaciology, physical geography and geophysics. Thus, the working group "Polar Geodesy and Glaciology", founded in 2013, offers a forum for discussion and stimulating exchange.
Cited articles
Benn, D., Fowler, A. C., Hewitt, I., and Sevestre, H.: A general theory of glacier surges, J. Glaciol., 65, 701–716, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2019.62, 2019. a
Bhambri, R., Hewitt, K., Kawishwar, P., and Pratap, B.: Surge-type and surge-modified glaciers in the Karakoram, Sci. Rep., 7, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15473-8, 2017. a
Cuffey, K. M. and Paterson, W. S. B.: The physics of glaciers, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, ISBN: 9780123694614, 2010. a
Davies, W. E. and Krinsley, D. B.: The recent regimen of the ice cap margin in North Greenland, Association Internationale d'Hydrologie Scientifique, 58, 119–130, 1962. a
Hill, E. A., Carr, J. R., Stokes, C. R., and Gudmundsson, G. H.: Dynamic changes in outlet glaciers in northern Greenland from 1948 to 2015, The Cryosphere, 12, 3243–3263, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3243-2018, 2018. a, b
Joughin, I., Howat, I. M., Smith, B. E., and Scambos, T.: MEaSUREs Greenland Ice Velocity: Selected Glacier Site Velocity Maps from InSAR, Version 3, Boulder, Colorado, USA, NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center [data set], https://doi.org/10.5067/YXMJRME5OUNC, 2020. a, b
Krieger, L., Strößenreuther, U., Helm, V., Floricioiu, D., and Horwath, M.: Synergistic Use of Single-Pass Interferometry and Radar Altimetry to Measure Mass Loss of NEGIS Outlet Glaciers between 2011 and 2014, Remote Sens., 12, 996, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12060996, 2020. a, b
Moon, T. and Joughin, I.: Changes in ice front position on Greenland’s outlet glaciers from 1992 to 2007, J. Geophys. Res., 113, F02022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JF000927, 2008. a, b
Morlighem, M., Williams, C. N., Rignot, E., An, L., Arndt, J. E., Bamber, J. L., Catania, G., Chauché, N., Dowdeswell, A., Dorschel, B., Fenty, I., Hogan, K., Howat, I., Hubbard, A., Jakobsson, M., Jordan, T. M., Kjeldsen, K. K., Millan, R., Mayer, L., Mouginot, J., Noël, B. P. Y., O'Cofaigh, C., Palmer, S., Rysgaard, H., Seroussi, H., Siegert, M. J., Slabon, P., Straneo, F., van de Broeke, M. R., Weinrebe, W., Wood, M., and Zinglersen, K. B.: BedMachine v3: Complete Bed Topography and Ocean Bathymetry Mapping of Greenland From Mulibeam Echo Sounding Combined Wicht Mass Conservation, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 11051–11061, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074954, 2017. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j
Morlighem, M., Williams, C. N., Rignot, E., An, L., Arndt, J. E., Bamber, J. L., Catania, G., Chauché, N., Dowdeswell, A., Dorschel, B., Fenty, I., Hogan, K., Howat, I., Hubbard, A., Jakobsson, M., Jordan, T. M., Kjeldsen, K. K., Millan, R., Mayer, L., Mouginot, J., Noël, B. P. Y., O'Cofaigh C., Palmer, S., Rysgaard, H., Seroussi, H., Siegert, M. J., Slabon, P., Straneo, F., van de Broeke, M. R., Weinrebe, W., Wood, M., and Zinglersen, K. B.: IceBridge BedMachine Greenland, Version 4, NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center [data set], Boulder, Colorado, USA, https://doi.org/10.5067/VLJ5YXKCNGXO, 2021. a
Noël, B. P. Y.: Rapid ablation zone expansion amplifies north Greenland mass loss: modelled (RACMO2) and observed (MODIS) data sets, PANGAEA [data set], https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.904428, 2019. a, b
Paden, J., Li, J., Leuschen, C., Rodriguez-Morales, F., and Hale, R.: IceBridge MCoRDS L1B Geolocated Radar Echo Strength Profiles, Version 2, NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center [data set], Boulder, Colorado, USA, https://doi.org/10.5067/90S1XZRBAX5N, 2019. a, b, c
Raymond, C. F.: How do glaciers surge? A review, J. Geophys. Res., 92, 9121–9134, https://doi.org/10.1029/JB092iB09p09121, 1987. a, b, c
Rosenau, R., Scheinert, M., and Dietrich, R.: A processing system to monitor Greenland outlet glacier velocity variations at decadal and seasonal time scales utilizing the Landsat imagery, Remote Sens. Environ., 169, 1–19, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2015.07.012, 2015 (data available at: https://data1.geo.tu-dresden.de/flow_velocity/download.shtml, last access: 12 July 2021). a, b
Solgaard, A. M., Simonsen, S. B., Grinsted, A., Mottram, R., Karlsson, N. B., and Hansen, K.: Hagen Bræ: A surging glacier in North Greenland – 35 years of observations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 47, e2019GL085802, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085802, 2020. a, b
Vijay, S., Khan, S. A., Kusk, A., Solgaard, A. M., Moon, T., and Bjørk, A. A.: Resolving seasonal ice velocity of 45 Greenlandic glaciers with very high temporal details, Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 1485–1495, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081503, 2019. a, b, c
Wendt, A., Mayer, C., Lambrecht, A., and Floricioiu, D.: A Glacier Surge of Bivachny Glacier, Pamir Mountains, Observed by a Time Series of High-Resolution Digital Elevation Models and Glacier Velocities, Remote Sens., 9, 388, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9040388, 2017. a, b, c, d
Williams, C. N., Cornford, S. L., Jordan, T. M., Dowdeswell, J. A., Siegert, M. J., Clark, C. D., Swift, D. A., Sole, A., Fenty, I., and Bamber, J. L.: Generating synthetic fjord bathymetry for coastal Greenland, The Cryosphere, 11, 363–380, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-363-2017, 2017. a
Wu, X. and Jezek, K. C.: Antarctic ice-sheet balance velocities from merged point and vector data, J. Glaciol., 50, 219–230, 2004. a
Short summary
Harald Moltke Bræ, a marine-terminating glacier in north-western Greenland, undergoes remarkable surges of episodic character. Our data show that a recent surge from 2013 to 2019 was initiated at the glacier front and exhibits a pronounced seasonality with flow velocities varying by 1 order of magnitude, which has not been observed at Harald Moltke Bræ in this way before. These findings are crucial for understanding surge mechanisms at Harald Moltke Bræ and other marine-terminating glaciers.
Harald Moltke Bræ, a marine-terminating glacier in north-western Greenland, undergoes...
