Antarctica; ice shelves; Monte Carlo technique; regional modeling; remote sensing; Antarctic Peninsula; Ice shelves; In-situ observations; Modeling data; Monte Carlo techniques; Regional climate modeling (RCM); Regional modelling; Remote-sensing; Specific location; Geophysics; Earth and Planetary Sciences (all)
Abstract :
[en] Despite in-situ observations of perennial firn aquifers (PFAs) at specific locations of the Antarctic ice sheet, a comprehensive continent-wide mapping of PFA distribution is currently lacking. We present an estimate of their distribution across Antarctica in the form of a probability assessment using a Monte Carlo technique. Our approach involves a novel methodology that combines observations from Sentinel-1 and Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT) with output from a regional climate model. To evaluate our method, we conduct an extensive comparison with Operation Ice Bridge observations from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Application to Antarctica reveals high PFA probabilities in the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), particularly along its northern, northwestern, and western coastlines, as well as on the Wilkins, Müller, and George VI ice shelves. Outside the AP, PFA probability is low, except for some locations with marginally higher probabilities, such as on the Abbot, Totten, and Shackleton ice shelves.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Di Biase, V. ; Department of Physics, Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
Kuipers Munneke, P. ; Department of Physics, Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
Veldhuijsen, S.B.M.; Department of Physics, Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
de Roda Husman, S. ; Department of Geoscience & Remote Sensing, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
van den Broeke, M.R. ; Department of Physics, Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
Noël, Brice ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géographie > Climatologie et Topoclimatologie
Buth, L.G. ; Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
Wouters, B.; Department of Geoscience & Remote Sensing, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
Language :
English
Title :
Probability of Firn Aquifer Presence in Antarctica by Combining Remote Sensing and Regional Climate Model Data
NESSC - Netherlands Earth System Science Centre F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique NWO - Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research
Funding text :
V.D.B. acknowledges funding from the Netherlands Earth System Science Center. B.N. was funded by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique de Belgique (F.R.S.-FNRS). S.B.M.V. is supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Grant. OCENW.GROOT.2019.091). We acknowledge the National Snow and Ice Data Center QGreenland package, Quantarctica, and the Norwegian Polar Institute for the basemaps utilized in the present work.
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