West Antarctic Glaciology - V

这一奖项是对一个项目的三年资助，该项目旨在回答两个对理解西南极冰盖的冰流至关重要的问题：1)罗斯冰流(B、D和E)目前是否在涌动？以及2)冰川隆起的扩大对B冰流的支撑作用是什么？这两个问题都将根据从地面、空中和太空收集的数据来回答。虽然西南极过去的许多变化迹象都是基于具有很大不确定性的内插和计算，但这些测量将是直接的，利用快速和准确的GPS定位，以最大限度地减少现场后勤需求。直接测量冰流D上部的预期变薄，并在冰流B、D和E的头部重复进行卫星图像测量，以检测起始区的内陆迁移(如持续涌动所需)，将使Bindschadler提出的激增假说得到测试。通过将新测量的冰厚、表面高度和速度与20世纪50年代、70年代和80年代收集的数据进行比较，研究Crary冰隆对B流冰流的支撑性影响，提供了数十年的变化时间序列。

This award is for support for three years of funding for a project designed to answer two questions of critical importance to understanding the ice flow of the West Antarctic ice sheet: 1) Are the Ross ice streams (B, D, and E) currently surging?, and 2) What has been the buttressing effect of an enlarging Crary Ice Rise on the flow of ice stream B? Both questions will be answered based on a combination of data collected on the surface, from the air and from space. While many past indications of change in West Antarctica have been based on interpolations and calculations with large uncertainties, these measurements will be direct, making use of rapid and accurate GPS positioning to minimize field logistic requirements. Direct measurement of expected thinning in the upper portion of ice stream D and repeated satellite image measurements at the heads of ice streams B, D, and E to detect the inland migration of the onset area (as is required by sustained surging) will enable a test of a surge hypothesis developed by Bindschadler. The buttressing impact of Crary Ice Rise on ice stream B's flow will be studied by comparing new measurements of ice thickness, surface elevation and velocity with data collected during the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s, providing a multi-decadal time-series of change.