| Title | Coastal-change and glaciological map of the northern Ross Ice Shelf area, Antarctica; 1962-2004 |
| Author | Ferrigno, J.G.; Foley, K.M.; Swithinbank, C.; Williams, R.S., Jr. |
| Author Affil | Ferrigno, J.G., U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA. Other: University of Cambridge, United Kingdom |
| Source | Geologic Investigations Series - U. S. Geological Survey, No.I-2600-H, 11p. 1 sheet. Publisher: U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, United States |
| Publication Date | 2007 |
| Notes | In English. Accessed on July 2, 2008. 79 refs. Ant. Acc. No: 85075. GeoRef Acc. No: 288142 |
| Index Terms | glacial geology; LANDSAT; maps; remote sensing; coastal topographic features; Antarctica--Antarctic ice sheet; Antarctica-- Ross Ice Shelf; Antarctic ice sheet; Antarctica; coastal environment; glacial features; glacial geology maps; ice streams; landform evolution; Landsat; Ross Ice Shelf; satellite methods; sea-level changes; shore features; thematic mapper; USGS |
| Abstract | Changes in the area and volume of polar ice sheets are intricately linked to changes in global climate, and the resulting changes in sea level could severely impact the densely populated coastal regions on Earth. Melting of the West Antarctic part alone of the Antarctic ice sheet would cause a sea-level rise of approximately 6 meters (m). The potential sea-level rise after melting of the entire Antarctic ice sheet is estimated to be 65 m (Lythe and others, 2001) to 73 m (Williams and Hall, 1993). The mass balance (the net volumetric gain or loss) of the Antarctic ice sheet is highly complex, responding differently to different conditions in each region (Vaughan, 2005). In a review paper, Rignot and Thomas (2002) concluded that the West Antarctic ice sheet is probably becoming thinner overall; although it is thickening in the west, it is thinning in the north. Thomas and others (2004), on the basis of aircraft and satellite laser altimetry surveys, believe the thinning may be accelerating. Joughin and Tulaczyk (2002), on the basis of analysis of ice-flow velocities derived from synthetic aperture radar, concluded that most of the Ross ice streams (ice streams on the east side of the Ross Ice Shelf) have a positive mass balance, whereas Rignot and others (2004) infer even larger negative mass balance for glaciers flowing northward into the Amundsen Sea, a trend suggested by Swithinbank and others (2003a,b; 2004). The mass balance of the East Antarctic ice sheet is thought by Davis and others (2005) to be strongly positive on the basis of the change in satellite altimetry measurements made between 1992 and 2003. |
| URL | http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i-2600-h/ |
| Publication Type | map |
| Record ID | 63000781 |