Detection of an Antarctic Ice Sheet Sea Level Fingerprint
Description/Abstract/Artist Statement
Mass changes of ice sheets and glaciers force distinct patterns of sea surface height, known as sea level fingerprints. Specifically, these fingerprints are caused by the altered gravitational attraction and solid Earth deformation associated with the changing ice load. The detection of a fingerprint around Antarctica is difficult due to the various ocean dynamic processes masking the signal and limited observations near the coast. Using ice mass change estimations based on surface elevation observations, we predict a fingerprint of the Antarctic ice sheet from 1993 to 2018. The two most notable features of this prediction are a region of sea level fall on the West Antarctic coast, and a region of sea level rise on the East Antarctic coast. This is compared to separate altimeter observations of sea surface height corrected for density variations in the same regions. We find a statistically significant correlation (P < 0.001) between the two fields on the East coast, indicating a clear detection of the fingerprint associated with nearby ice mass gain. On the West coast, no such agreement is found, suggesting other coastal processes are unaccounted for in the corrected altimetry fields.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Sönke Dangendorf, John Klinck
Faculty Advisor/Mentor Department
Ocean and Earth Sciences
College Affiliation
College of Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster
Disciplines
Geophysics and Seismology | Oceanography
Session Title
Poster Session
Location
Learning Commons Lobby @ Perry Library
Start Date
3-25-2023 8:30 AM
End Date
3-25-2023 10:00 AM
Detection of an Antarctic Ice Sheet Sea Level Fingerprint
Learning Commons Lobby @ Perry Library
Mass changes of ice sheets and glaciers force distinct patterns of sea surface height, known as sea level fingerprints. Specifically, these fingerprints are caused by the altered gravitational attraction and solid Earth deformation associated with the changing ice load. The detection of a fingerprint around Antarctica is difficult due to the various ocean dynamic processes masking the signal and limited observations near the coast. Using ice mass change estimations based on surface elevation observations, we predict a fingerprint of the Antarctic ice sheet from 1993 to 2018. The two most notable features of this prediction are a region of sea level fall on the West Antarctic coast, and a region of sea level rise on the East Antarctic coast. This is compared to separate altimeter observations of sea surface height corrected for density variations in the same regions. We find a statistically significant correlation (P < 0.001) between the two fields on the East coast, indicating a clear detection of the fingerprint associated with nearby ice mass gain. On the West coast, no such agreement is found, suggesting other coastal processes are unaccounted for in the corrected altimetry fields.