Progressive changes in geometry and dynamics of the Northern Pine Island Ice Shelf, West Antarctica

Chien, Yite; Zhou, Chunxia; Zhang, Baojun

doi:10.5194/tc-20-6071-2026

Articles | Volume 20, issue 10

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-6071-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-6071-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 20, issue 10

Research article

|

21 Oct 2026

Research article |

| 21 Oct 2026

Progressive changes in geometry and dynamics of the Northern Pine Island Ice Shelf, West Antarctica

Yite Chien, Chunxia Zhou, and Baojun Zhang

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-6071-2026-supplement

Data sets

Dataset for the manuscript "Progressive Changes in Geometry and Dynamics of the Northern Pine Island Ice Shelf, West Antarctica" Y. Chien et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22044739

Datasets for the study “Mélange- driven coupling between the central Pine Island Ice Shelf and the Piglet Glacier reverses recent acceleration trends” Y. Chien et al. https://zenodo.org/uploads/17722558

MEaSUREs Antarctic 30 Grounding Line from Differential Satellite Radar Interferometry (NSIDC-0498, Version 2) E. Rignot et al. https://doi.org/10.5067/IKBWW4RYHF1Q

ATLAS/ICESat-2 L3A Land Ice Height B. Smith et al. https://doi.org/10.5067/ATLAS/ATL06.006

Video supplement

Movie S1 for the manuscript "Progressive Changes in Geometry and Dynamics of the Northern Pine Island Ice Shelf, West Antarctica" Chien Yite; Zhou Chunxia; Zhang Baojun https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23307636

Short summary

The Northern Pine Island Ice Shelf plays an important role in slowing the flow of Antarctic ice into the ocean, but its changes have been poorly understood. Using satellite observations and environmental data collected over several decades, we found that this ice shelf has thinned, retreated, and lost contact with the seabed. These changes suggest the ice shelf is becoming less stable and highlights the importance of continued monitoring to anticipate potential disintegration.