Radar Data at Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica (IMAGE)
Caption
Screen shot of a 3D view of the tidal motion of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica recorded by the ICEYE Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) constellation based on images acquired on May 11, 12 and 13, 2023. Contour levels are bed topography contours at 50 m interval. Each interferometric fringe color cycle is a 360 degree change in phase, equivalent to a 1.65 cm displacement in line-of-sight distance of the ice surface. The interferogram is overlaid on a Landsat 9 image acquired on Feb., 2023. In this study, we show that the limit of tidal flexing varies by kilometers over the tidal cycle, indicating that pressurized seawater is able to intrude beneath grounded ice over kilometers and set vigorous heat exchange with the glacier base. On the right side of the screen, a separate bull's eye pattern indicates seawater intrusion propagating another 6 km beyond a protective ridge, indicating that the glacier retreat is still ongoing, at a kilometer per year in this critical sector of Antarctica.
Credit
Eric Rignot / UC Irvine
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