Subglacial Topography: Airborne Geophysical Survey of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica  View Catalog Page Entry ID
NSIDC-0292
Summary
This data set includes 5 km gridded data from the Airborne Geophysical Survey of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica (AGASEA) conducted during the 2004-2005 austral summer. Investigators derived maps of the ice sheet surface and subglacial topography, which covers the entire catchments of both the Thwaites Glacier and the Pine Islands Glacier, from airborne survey systems mounted on a Twin Otter aircraft. The surveys had sufficient density to identify critical ice dynamic transitions within the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE).
The ASE is the only major drainage to exhibit significant elevation change over the period of available satellite observations. Modeling of the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) deglaciation pinpointed the Pine Island Glacier and the Thwaites Glacier, which comprise a major portion of the ASE, as the most vulnerable features of the WAIS. Present knowledge of the ice thickness and subglacial boundary conditions in the ASE are insufficient to understand its evolution or its sensitivity to climatic change, and it is not yet determined whether these changes are evidence of ongoing deglaciation or simply a fluctuation that does not threaten the equilibrium of the ice sheet. This research will support the efforts of a community of United States and international researchers to assess the present and predict the future behavior of the ice sheet in the ASE.
These data are available via FTP.
Geographic Coverage
Spatial Coordinates:
N: -71.7°
S: -81.7°
E: -84.5°
W: -134.9°
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Data Set Citation
Dataset Creator: John W. Holt
Dataset Title: Subglacial Topography: Airborne Geophysical Survey of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica
Dataset Release Date: 2006-10-25
Dataset Release Place: Boulder, Colorado USA
Dataset Publisher: NSIDC: National Snow and Ice Data Center
Online Resource: http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0292.html
Dataset DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7265/N59W0CDC
Temporal Coverage
Start Date: 2004-11-01
Stop Date: 2005-03-31
Data Resolution
Latitude Resolution: 5 km
Longitude Resolution: 5 km
Location Keywords
- CONTINENT ANTARCTICA AMUNDSEN SEA EMBAYMENT
Science Keywords
- Cryosphere Glaciers/Ice Sheets Glacier Topography/Ice Sheet Topography
- Cryosphere Snow/Ice Ice Depth/Thickness
- Land Surface Topography Terrain Elevation
- Oceans Bathymetry/Seafloor Topography Seafloor Topography
- Terrestrial Hydrosphere Glaciers/Ice Sheets Glacier Topography/Ice Sheet Topography
- Terrestrial Hydrosphere Snow/Ice Ice Depth/Thickness
Ancillary Keywords
- AGDC
- Airborne geophysical survey of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica (AGASEA)
- Amundsen Basin
- Amundsen Sea Embayment
- Antarctica
- Ice Sheet Elevation
- Pine Island Glacier
- Subglacial Topography
- Thwaites Glacier
- WAIS
- West Antarctica
- West Antarctic Ice Sheet
- Climatology/Meteorology/Atmosphere
- Geoscientific Information
Platform
Instrument
- GPS Global Positioning System
- RADAR Radio Detection and Ranging
- RADAR ECHO SOUNDERS
Data Set Progress
complete
Originating Center
NSIDC_AGDC
Data Center
National Snow and Ice Data Center
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org
Data Center Personnel
Name: NSIDC User Services
Phone: 1 303 492-6199
Fax: 1 303 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
- National Snow and Ice Data Center
- CIRES, 449 UCB
- University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA
NSIDC Antarctic Glaciological Data Center
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org/agdc/
Data Center Personnel
Name: NSIDC AGDC User Services
Phone: 1 303 492-6199
Fax: 1 303 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
- National Snow and Ice Data Center
- CIRES, 449 UCB
- University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA
NSIDC U.S. Antarctic Data Coordination Center
Data Center URL: http://nsidc.org/usadcc/
Data Center Personnel
Name: NSIDC USADCC User Services
Phone: 1 303 492-6199
Fax: 1 303 492-2468
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
- National Snow and Ice Data Center
- CIRES, 449 UCB
- University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA
Distribution
Distribution Media: FTP
Distribution Size: 1.32 MB
Distribution Format: ASCII Text
Distribution Media: FTP
Distribution Size: 140 KB
Distribution Format: Binary
Personnel
John W. Holt
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Contact Address:
- University of Texas at Austin
- Institute for Geophysics
- 4412 Spicewood Springs Rd. #600
City: Austin
Province or State: TX
Postal Code: 78759-850
Country: USA
Donald D. Blankenship
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Email: blank@ig.utexas.edu
Contact Address:
- University of Texas at Austin
- Institute for Geophysics
- 4412 Spicewood Springs Rd. #600
City: Austin
Province or State: TX
Postal Code: 78759-8500
Country: USA
David L. Morse
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Contact Address:
- University of Texas at Austin
- Institute for Geophysics
City: Austin
Province or State: TX
David G. Vaughan
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Email: dgv@bas.ac.uk
Contact Address:
- British Antarctic Survey
- High Cross, Madingley Road
- CAMBRIDGE
- CB3 0ET
- United Kingdom
City: Cambridge
Country: United Kingdom
Hugh F. J. Corr
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Email: hfjc@bas.ac.uk
Contact Address:
- British Antarctic Survey
- High Cross
- Madingley Road
- Cambridge
- CB3 0ET
- United Kingdom
City: Cambridge
Country: United Kingdom
Duncan A. Young
Role: INVESTIGATOR
Contact Address:
- University of Texas at Austin
- Jackson School of Geosciences, Institute for Geophysics
- J.J. Pickle Research Campus
- Bldg. 196
- 10100 Burnet Road (R2200)
- Austin, TX 78758-4445
City: Austin
Province or State: Texas
Postal Code: 78758-4445
Country: USA
NSIDC User Services
Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT
Phone: 1 303 492-6199 x
Fax: 1 303 492-2468 x
Email: nsidc@nsidc.org
Contact Address:
- National Snow and Ice Data Center
- CIRES, 449 UCB
- University of Colorado
City: Boulder
Province or State: CO
Postal Code: 80309-0449
Country: USA
Related URL
VIEW PROJECT HOME PAGE
Airborne geophysical survey of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica (AGASEA)
VIEW PROJECT HOME PAGE
University of Texas, Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) Web site
VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
Ice Thickness and Surface Elevation, Southeastern Ross Embayment, West Antarctica
Reference
Holt, J. W., D. D. Blankenship, D. L. Morse, D. A. Young, M. E. Peters, S. D. Kempf, et. al. 2006. New boundary conditions for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet: subglacial topography of the Thwaites and Smith glacier catchments. Geophysical Research Letters 33, L09502. doi:10.1029/2005GL025561.
Vaughan, D. G., H. F. J. Corr, F. Ferraccioli, N. Frearson, A. O'Hare, D. Mach, J. Holt, et. al. 2006. New boundary conditions for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet: subglacial topography beneath Pine Island Glacier. Geophysical Research Letters 33, L09501. doi:10.1029/2005GL025588.
Metadata Name and Version
Metadata Name: CEOS IDN DIF
Metadata Version: 9.7
Creation and Review Dates
DIF Creation Date: 2006-10-25
Last DIF Revision Date: 2013-03-18
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