Measurements of Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, thickness change from surface elevation observations 1968-present

南极洲的大型浮冰架可能是对气候变化最敏感的地区。在20世纪90年代，人们目睹了南极半岛地区几个冰架的崩塌。虽然东南极洲更冷的冰架被认为目前不会受到如此剧烈的破坏，但人们对它们目前的变化速度知之甚少。这项研究的重点是东南极洲最大的冰架，阿梅里冰架（AIS），它消耗了南极大陆16%的陆地。在过去的几十年里，它发生了怎样的变化？是什么推动了这些变化？为了回答这个问题，我们将比较20世纪60年代在北部AIS上进行的地面高程测量与最近使用卫星技术（如全球定位系统（GPS））进行的高程测量。结合对冰架密度的了解，我们将能够确定在此期间冰质量的增加/损失，并将为任何变化背后的驱动机制提供重要指标。

Antarctica's large floating ice shelves are perhaps the most sensitive of its regions to climate change. During the 1990s, the collapse of several ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula region were witnessed. While the much colder ice shelves of East Antarctica are thought to be presently safe from such dramatic destruction, little is known about their present rate of change. This study focusses on the largest ice shelf in East Antarctica, the Amery Ice Shelf (AIS), which drains 16% of the grounded Antarctic continent. How has it changed during the past few decades? What is driving these changes? To answer this, we will compare surface elevation measurements on the northern AIS made during the 1960s with more recent elevation measurements using satellite technology, such as Global Positioning System (GPS). Together with an understanding of the ice shelf density, we will be able to determine the amount of ice mass gained/lost during this period and it will provide important indicators to the driving mechanisms behind any changes.