Extent of low-accumulation %26apos;wind glaze%26apos; areas on the East Antarctic plateau: implications for continental ice mass balance

作者：Scambos T A^*; Frezzotti M; Haran T; Bohlander J; Lenaerts J T M; van den Broeke M R; Jezek K; Long D; Urbini S; Farness K; Neumann T; Albert M; Winther J G

来源：Journal of Glaciology, 2012, 58(210): 633-647.

DOI：10.3189/2012JoG11J232

Persistent katabatic winds form widely distributed localized areas of near-zero net surface accumulation on the East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS) plateau. These areas have been called %26apos;glaze%26apos; surfaces due to their polished appearance. They are typically 2-200 km(2) in area and are found on leeward slopes of ice-sheet undulations and megadunes. Adjacent, leeward high-accumulation regions (isolated dunes) are generally smaller and do not compensate for the local low in surface mass balance (SMB). We use a combination of satellite remote sensing and field-gathered datasets to map the extent of wind glaze in the EAIS above 1500 m elevation. Mapping criteria are derived from distinctive surface and subsurface characteristics of glaze areas resulting from many years of intense annual temperature cycling without significant burial. Our results show that 11.2 +/- 1.7%, or 950 +/- 143 x 10(3) km(2), of the EAIS above 1500 m is wind glaze. Studies of SMB interpolate values across glaze regions, leading to overestimates of net mass input. Using our derived wind-glaze extent, we estimate this excess in three recent models of Antarctic SMB at 46-82 Gt. The lowest-input model appears to best match the mean in regions of extensive wind glaze.

• 出版日期2012
• 单位中国极地研究中心