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    Antarctic surface melting dynamics : enhanced perspectives from radar scatterometer data

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    Article (3.662Mb)
    Additional file information (2.072Kb)
    Figure S1: Decision tree process used in the study to classify surface melting from QuikSCAT data. (374.3Kb)
    Figure S2: Annual maps of melt duration and the mean melt duration. (9.386Mb)
    Figure S3: Annual maps of MDD-based melt intensity and the mean melt intensity. (10.28Mb)
    Figure S4: Plot of the coefficient of determination between QuikSCAT melting days and melting decibel days to in situ positive temperature days and positive degree-days. (282.4Kb)
    Figure S5: Plot of changes in linear regression parameters with varying thresholds. (280.1Kb)
    Text S1: A description of the melt detection process and sensitivity analysis. (6.753Kb)
    Date
    2012-05-17
    Author
    Trusel, Luke D.  Concept link
    Frey, Karen E.  Concept link
    Das, Sarah B.  Concept link
    Metadata
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    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/5236
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002126
    DOI
    10.1029/2011JF002126
    Keyword
     Antarctica; Melt intensity; Remote sensing; Surface melting 
    Abstract
    Antarctic ice sheet surface melting can regionally influence ice shelf stability, mass balance, and glacier dynamics, in addition to modulating near-surface physical and chemical properties over wide areas. Here, we investigate variability in surface melting from 1999 to 2009 using radar backscatter time series from the SeaWinds scatterometer aboard the QuikSCAT satellite. These daily, continent-wide observations are explored in concert with in situ meteorological records to validate a threshold-based melt detection method. Radar backscatter decreases during melting are significantly correlated with in situ positive degree-days as well as meltwater production determined from energy balance modeling at Neumayer Station, East Antarctica. These results support the use of scatterometer data as a diagnostic indicator of melt intensity (i.e., the relative liquid water production during melting). Greater spatial and temporal melting detected relative to previous passive microwave-based studies is attributed to a higher sensitivity of the scatterometer instrument. Continental melt intensity variability can be explained in part by the dynamics of the Southern Annular Mode and the Southern Oscillation Index, and extreme melting events across the Ross Ice Shelf region may be associated with El Niño conditions. Furthermore, we find that the Antarctic Peninsula accounts for only 20% of Antarctic melt extent but greater than 50% of the total Antarctic melt intensity. Over most areas, annual melt duration and intensity are proportional. However, regional and localized distinctions exist where the melt intensity metric provides greater insight into melting dynamics than previously obtainable with other remote sensing techniques.
    Description
    Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 117 (2012): F02023, doi:10.1029/2011JF002126.
    Collections
    • Geology and Geophysics (G&G)
    Suggested Citation
    Journal of Geophysical Research 117 (2012): F02023
     

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