Generalized distribution of supraglacial lakes around the margin of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet

Supraglacial lakes are important for the mass balance of the ice sheets because their development and drainage have been associated with changes in the speed of ice streams and the deterioration of ice sheets.

In this study, the objective was to improve knowledge on the distribution of supraglacial lakes since the available information on this topic is scarce in East Antarctica. The authors used around 5 million km2 of high resolution satellite images to identify more than 65.000 lakes (> 1.300 km2) formed in the peak of thawing season (January 2017).

The lakes occur in marginal areas, where normally they develop at low elevation (< 100 m) and low superficial slopes (< 1 °), but can exist 500 km inland and altitudes of more than 1500 m. Further, these lakes are generally grouped a few kilometers of under the ice, below the line where the glaciers start floating. Around 60 % of the supraglacial lakes develop on the ice sheets (> 80 % per area), including some that are potentially vulnerable to collapse from hydro-fracture induced by the lake. In sum, this study suggests that parts of the ice sheets can be quite sensitive to climate warming.

————

Source: Stokes, C.R., Sanderson, J.E., Miles, B.W.J. et al. Widespread distribution of supraglacial lakes around the margin of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Sci Rep 9, 13823 (2019) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-50343-5

Author: Cármen Sousa

Share

Leave a Reply