Articles | Volume 18, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-543-2024
© Author(s) 2024. 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-18-543-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
08 Feb 2024
Research article |
| 08 Feb 2024
| 08 Feb 2024
Evaluation of satellite methods for estimating supraglacial lake depth in southwest Greenland
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
Amber Leeson
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
Malcolm McMillan
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
Jennifer Maddalena
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
Jade Bowling
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
Emily Glen
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
Louise Sandberg Sørensen
DTU Space, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
Mai Winstrup
DTU Space, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
Rasmus Lørup Arildsen
DTU Space, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark
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Anna Puggaard, Nicolaj Hansen, Ruth Mottram, Thomas Nagler, Stefan Scheiblauer, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Louise S. Sørensen, Jan Wuite, and Anne M. Solgaard
The Cryosphere, 19, 2963–2981, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2963-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2963-2025, 2025
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Regional climate models are currently the only source for assessing the melt volume of the Greenland Ice Sheet on a global scale. This study compares the modeled melt volume with observations from weather stations and melt extent observed from the Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT) to assess the performance of the models. It highlights the importance of critically evaluating model outputs with high-quality satellite measurements to improve the understanding of variability among models.
Maya Raghunath Suryawanshi, Malcolm McMillan, Jennifer Maddalena, Fanny Piras, Jérémie Aublanc, Jean-Alexis Daguzé, Clara Grau, and Qi Huang
The Cryosphere, 19, 2855–2880, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2855-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2855-2025, 2025
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Increasing melting rates of the polar ice sheets are contributing more and more to sea level rise. Due to the remoteness and expanse of ice sheets, these changes are mainly observed using satellites. However, the accuracy of these measurements depends on the processing of these datasets. Here we use advanced algorithms to provide improved historical ice sheet elevation measurements, derived from satellite altimeters flying between 1991 and 2012, which will benefit cryospheric applications.
Paolo Gabrielli, Theo M. Jenk, Michele Bertó, Giuliano Dreossi, Daniela Festi, Werner Kofler, Mai Winstrup, Klaus Oeggl, Margit Schwikowski, Barbara Stenni, and Carlo Barbante
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2174, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2174, 2025
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A low latitude-high altitude Alpine ice core record was obtained in 2011 from the glacier Alto dell’Ortles (Eastern Alps, Italy) and provided evidence of one of the oldest Alpine ice core records spanning the last ~7000 years, back to the last Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum. Here we provide a new Alto dell’Ortles chronology of improved accuracy that will allow to constrain Holocene climatic and environmental histories emerging from this high-altitude glacial archive of Central Europe.
Emily Glen, Amber Leeson, Alison F. Banwell, Jennifer Maddalena, Diarmuid Corr, Olivia Atkins, Brice Noël, and Malcolm McMillan
The Cryosphere, 19, 1047–1066, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1047-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1047-2025, 2025
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We compare surface meltwater features from optical satellite imagery in the Russell–Leverett glacier catchment during high (2019) and low (2018) melt years. In the high melt year, features appear at higher elevations, meltwater systems are more connected, small lakes are more frequent, and slush is more widespread. These findings provide insights into how a warming climate, where high melt years become common, could alter meltwater distribution and dynamics on the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Ryan Hossaini, David Sherry, Zihao Wang, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Wuhu Feng, David E. Oram, Karina E. Adcock, Stephen A. Montzka, Isobel J. Simpson, Andrea Mazzeo, Amber A. Leeson, Elliot Atlas, and Charles C.-K. Chou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13457–13475, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13457-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13457-2024, 2024
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DCE (1,2-dichloroethane) is an industrial chemical used to produce PVC (polyvinyl chloride). We analysed DCE production data to estimate global DCE emissions (2002–2020). The emissions were included in an atmospheric model and evaluated by comparing simulated DCE to DCE measurements in the troposphere. We show that DCE contributes ozone-depleting Cl to the stratosphere and that this has increased with increasing DCE emissions. DCE’s impact on stratospheric O3 is currently small but non-zero.
Mai Winstrup, Heidi Ranndal, Signe Hillerup Larsen, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Kenneth D. Mankoff, Robert S. Fausto, and Louise Sandberg Sørensen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5405–5428, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5405-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5405-2024, 2024
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Surface topography across the marginal zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet is constantly evolving. Here we present an annual series (2019–2022) of summer digital elevation models (PRODEMs) for the Greenland Ice Sheet margin, covering all outlet glaciers from the ice sheet. The PRODEMs are based on fusion of CryoSat-2 radar altimetry and ICESat-2 laser altimetry. With their high spatial and temporal resolution, the PRODEMs will enable detailed studies of the changes in marginal ice sheet elevations.
Joe Phillips and Malcolm McMillan
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3054, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3054, 2024
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This study explores how well the Sentinel-3 satellites measure Antarctic ice sheet elevation, using new, detailed maps of slopes and roughness created using the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica. We found that while the satellites tend to perform well over smoother terrain, they can struggle over more complex surfaces. These findings can improve how we track ice sheet changes and guide future satellite missions, helping us better understand the impact of climate change on polar regions.
Jeremy Carter, Erick A. Chacón-Montalván, and Amber Leeson
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 5733–5757, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5733-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5733-2024, 2024
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Climate models are essential tools in the study of climate change and its wide-ranging impacts on life on Earth. However, the output is often afflicted with some bias. In this paper, a novel model is developed to predict and correct bias in the output of climate models. The model captures uncertainty in the correction and explicitly models underlying spatial correlation between points. These features are of key importance for climate change impact assessments and resulting decision-making.
Nanna B. Karlsson, Dustin M. Schroeder, Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Winnie Chu, Jørgen Dall, Natalia H. Andersen, Reese Dobson, Emma J. Mackie, Simon J. Köhn, Jillian E. Steinmetz, Angelo S. Tarzona, Thomas O. Teisberg, and Niels Skou
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3333–3344, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3333-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3333-2024, 2024
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In the 1970s, more than 177 000 km of observations were acquired from airborne radar over the Greenland ice sheet. The radar data contain information on not only the thickness of the ice, but also the properties of the ice itself. This information was recorded on film rolls and subsequently stored. In this study, we document the digitization of these film rolls that shed new and unprecedented detailed light on the Greenland ice sheet 50 years ago.
Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Rasmus Bahbah, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Natalia Havelund Andersen, Jade Bowling, Noel Gourmelen, Alex Horton, Nanna B. Karlsson, Amber Leeson, Jennifer Maddalena, Malcolm McMillan, Anne Solgaard, and Birgit Wessel
The Cryosphere, 18, 505–523, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-505-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-505-2024, 2024
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Under the right topographic and hydrological conditions, lakes may form beneath the large ice sheets. Some of these subglacial lakes are active, meaning that they periodically drain and refill. When a subglacial lake drains rapidly, it may cause the ice surface above to collapse, and here we investigate how to improve the monitoring of active subglacial lakes in Greenland by monitoring how their associated collapse basins change over time.
Prateek Gantayat, Alison F. Banwell, Amber A. Leeson, James M. Lea, Dorthe Petersen, Noel Gourmelen, and Xavier Fettweis
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 5803–5823, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5803-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5803-2023, 2023
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We developed a new supraglacial hydrology model for the Greenland Ice Sheet. This model simulates surface meltwater routing, meltwater drainage, supraglacial lake (SGL) overflow, and formation of lake ice. The model was able to reproduce 80 % of observed lake locations and provides a good match between the observed and modelled temporal evolution of SGLs.
Nicolaj Hansen, Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Giorgio Spada, Daniele Melini, Rene Forsberg, Ruth Mottram, and Sebastian B. Simonsen
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-104, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-104, 2023
Preprint withdrawn
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We use ICESat-2 to estimate the surface elevation change over Greenland and Antarctica in the period of 2018 to 2021. Numerical models have been used the compute the firn compaction and the vertical bedrock movement so non-mass-related elevation changes can be taken into account. We have made a parameterization of the surface density so we can convert the volume change to mass change. We find that Antarctica has lost 135.7±27.3 Gt per year, and the Greenland ice sheet 237.5±14.0 Gt per year.
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
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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.
Jeremy Carter, Amber Leeson, Andrew Orr, Christoph Kittel, and J. Melchior van Wessem
The Cryosphere, 16, 3815–3841, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3815-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3815-2022, 2022
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Climate models provide valuable information for studying processes such as the collapse of ice shelves over Antarctica which impact estimates of sea level rise. This paper examines variability across climate simulations over Antarctica for fields including snowfall, temperature and melt. Significant systematic differences between outputs are found, occurring at both large and fine spatial scales across Antarctica. Results are important for future impact assessments and model development.
Giulia Sinnl, Mai Winstrup, Tobias Erhardt, Eliza Cook, Camilla Marie Jensen, Anders Svensson, Bo Møllesøe Vinther, Raimund Muscheler, and Sune Olander Rasmussen
Clim. Past, 18, 1125–1150, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1125-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1125-2022, 2022
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A new Greenland ice-core timescale, covering the last 3800 years, was produced using the machine learning algorithm StratiCounter. We synchronized the ice cores using volcanic eruptions and wildfires. We compared the new timescale to the tree-ring timescale, finding good alignment both between the common signatures of volcanic eruptions and of solar activity. Our Greenlandic timescales is safe to use for the Late Holocene, provided one uses our uncertainty estimate.
Daniel Clarkson, Emma Eastoe, and Amber Leeson
The Cryosphere, 16, 1597–1607, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1597-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1597-2022, 2022
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The Greenland ice sheet has seen large amounts of melt in recent years, and accurately modelling temperatures is vital to understand how much of the ice sheet is melting. We estimate the probability of melt from ice surface temperature data to identify which areas of the ice sheet have experienced melt and estimate temperature quantiles. Our results suggest that for large areas of the ice sheet, melt has become more likely over the past 2 decades and high temperatures are also becoming warmer.
Paolo Gabrielli, Theo Manuel Jenk, Michele Bertó, Giuliano Dreossi, Daniela Festi, Werner Kofler, Mai Winstrup, Klaus Oeggl, Margit Schwikowski, Barbara Stenni, and Carlo Barbante
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2022-20, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2022-20, 2022
Revised manuscript not accepted
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We present a methodology that reduces the chronological uncertainty of an Alpine ice core record from the glacier Alto dell’Ortles, Italy. This chronology will allow the constraint of the Holocene climatic and environmental histories emerging from this archive of Central Europe. This method will allow to obtain accurate chronologies also from other ice cores from-low latitude/high-altitude glaciers that typically suffer from larger dating uncertainties compared with well dated polar records.
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
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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.
Diarmuid Corr, Amber Leeson, Malcolm McMillan, Ce Zhang, and Thomas Barnes
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 209–228, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-209-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-209-2022, 2022
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We identify 119 km2 of meltwater area over West Antarctica in January 2017. In combination with Stokes et al., 2019, this forms the first continent-wide assessment helping to quantify the mass balance of Antarctica and its contribution to global sea level rise. We apply thresholds for meltwater classification to satellite images, mapping the extent and manually post-processing to remove false positives. Our study provides a high-fidelity dataset to train and validate machine learning methods.
Thomas James Barnes, Amber Alexandra Leeson, Malcolm McMillan, Vincent Verjans, Jeremy Carter, and Christoph Kittel
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-214, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-214, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
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We find that the area covered by lakes on George VI ice shelf in 2020 is similar to that seen in other years such as 1989. However, the climate conditions are much more in favour of lakes forming. We find that it is likely that snowfall, and the build up of a surface snow layer limits the development of lakes on the surface of George VI ice shelf in 2020. We also find that in future, snowfall is predicted to decrease, and therefore this limiting effect may be reduced in future.
Malcolm McMillan, Alan Muir, and Craig Donlon
The Cryosphere, 15, 3129–3134, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3129-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3129-2021, 2021
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We evaluate the consistency of ice sheet elevation measurements made by two satellites: Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B. We analysed data from the unique
tandemphase of the mission, where the two satellites flew 30 s apart to provide near-instantaneous measurements of Earth's surface. Analysing these data over Antarctica, we find no significant difference between the satellites, which is important for demonstrating that they can be used interchangeably for long-term ice sheet monitoring.
Lu Zhou, Julienne Stroeve, Shiming Xu, Alek Petty, Rachel Tilling, Mai Winstrup, Philip Rostosky, Isobel R. Lawrence, Glen E. Liston, Andy Ridout, Michel Tsamados, and Vishnu Nandan
The Cryosphere, 15, 345–367, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-345-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-345-2021, 2021
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Snow on sea ice plays an important role in the Arctic climate system. Large spatial and temporal discrepancies among the eight snow depth products are analyzed together with their seasonal variability and long-term trends. These snow products are further compared against various ground-truth observations. More analyses on representation error of sea ice parameters are needed for systematic comparison and fusion of airborne, in situ and remote sensing observations.
Jennifer F. Arthur, Chris R. Stokes, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, J. Rachel Carr, and Amber A. Leeson
The Cryosphere, 14, 4103–4120, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4103-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4103-2020, 2020
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Surface meltwater lakes can flex and fracture ice shelves, potentially leading to ice shelf break-up. A long-term record of lake evolution on Shackleton Ice Shelf is produced using optical satellite imagery and compared to surface air temperature and modelled surface melt. The results reveal that lake clustering on the ice shelf is linked to melt-enhancing feedbacks. Peaks in total lake area and volume closely correspond with intense snowmelt events rather than with warmer seasonal temperatures.
Baptiste Vandecrux, Ruth Mottram, Peter L. Langen, Robert S. Fausto, Martin Olesen, C. Max Stevens, Vincent Verjans, Amber Leeson, Stefan Ligtenberg, Peter Kuipers Munneke, Sergey Marchenko, Ward van Pelt, Colin R. Meyer, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Achim Heilig, Samira Samimi, Shawn Marshall, Horst Machguth, Michael MacFerrin, Masashi Niwano, Olivia Miller, Clifford I. Voss, and Jason E. Box
The Cryosphere, 14, 3785–3810, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3785-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3785-2020, 2020
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In the vast interior of the Greenland ice sheet, snow accumulates into a thick and porous layer called firn. Each summer, the firn retains part of the meltwater generated at the surface and buffers sea-level rise. In this study, we compare nine firn models traditionally used to quantify this retention at four sites and evaluate their performance against a set of in situ observations. We highlight limitations of certain model designs and give perspectives for future model development.
Vincent Verjans, Amber A. Leeson, Christopher Nemeth, C. Max Stevens, Peter Kuipers Munneke, Brice Noël, and Jan Melchior van Wessem
The Cryosphere, 14, 3017–3032, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3017-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3017-2020, 2020
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Ice sheets are covered by a firn layer, which is the transition stage between fresh snow and ice. Accurate modelling of firn density properties is important in many glaciological aspects. Current models show disagreements, are mostly calibrated to match specific observations of firn density and lack thorough uncertainty analysis. We use a novel calibration method for firn models based on a Bayesian statistical framework, which results in improved model accuracy and in uncertainty evaluation.
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Short summary
Lakes on glaciers hold large volumes of water which can drain through the ice, influencing estimates of sea level rise. To estimate water volume, we must calculate lake depth. We assessed the accuracy of three satellite-based depth detection methods on a study area in western Greenland and considered the implications for quantifying the volume of water within lakes. We found that the most popular method of detecting depth on the ice sheet scale has higher uncertainty than previously assumed.
Lakes on glaciers hold large volumes of water which can drain through the ice, influencing...
