Summary

We present a map of the distribution of marine ice accreted to the base of the Amery Ice Shelf (AIS), East Antarctica. This map is derived by converting a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the AIS generated from satellite radar altimeter data to an ice thickness map, assuming hydrostatic equilibrium, and subtracting from that a second ice thickness map, derived from airborne radio-echo sounding (RES) measurements. The RES signal does not penetrate the marine ice, so the measurement is only to the glacial ice/marine ice boundary, and therefore the difference between the two maps is the marine ice thickness. The marine ice is up to 190 m thick, and accounts for about 9% of the total ice shelf volume. It is concentrated in the northwest of the shelf, a result of the clockwise ocean circulation in the cavity below.

Authors:Fricker H.A. Popov S. Allison I. Young N.W. Publisher: Americxan Geophysical Union Published in: 2001 Category 1: Peer-reviewed literature Program area: Glaciology
Fricker H.A., Popov S., Allison I., Young N.W. (2001) Distribution of marine ice beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, Geophysical Research Letters 28 (11). 2241-2244;

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