Engineering topics
Rignot, E.
Publications and source records attributed to Rignot, E..
Recent Ice Loss from the Fleming and Other Glaciers, Wordie Bay, West Antarctic Peninsula
Satellite radar interferometry data from 1995 to 2004, and airborne ice thickness data from 2002, reveal that the glaciers flowing into former Wordie Ice Shelf, West Antarctic Peninsula, discharge 6.8 +/- 0.3 km(exp 3)/yr of ice, which is 84 +/- 30 percent larger than a snow accumulation of 3.7 +/- 0.8 km(exp 3)/yr over a 6,300 km(exp 2) drainage basin. Airborne and ICESat laser altimetry elevation data reveal glacier thinning at rates up to 2 m/yr. Fifty km from its ice front, Fleming Glacier flows 50 percent faster than it did in 1974 prior to the main collapse of Wordie Ice Shelf. We conclude that the glaciers accelerated following ice shelf removal, and have been thinning and losing mass to the ocean over the last decade. This and other observations suggest that the mass loss from the northern part of the Peninsula is not negligible at present.
Rheology of the Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, Inferred from Satellite Radar Interferometry Data using an Inverse Control Method
The Antarctic Ice Sheet is surrounded by large floating ice shelves that spread under their own weight into the ocean. Ice shelf rigidity depends on ice temperature and fabrics, and is influenced by ice flow and the delicate balance between bottom and surface accumulation. Here, we use an inverse control method to infer the rigidity of the Ronne Ice Shelf that best matches observations of ice velocity from satellite radar interferometry. Ice rigidity, or flow law parameter B, is shown to vary between 300 and 900 kPa a(sup 1/3). Ice is softer along the side margins due to frictional heating, and harder along the outflow of large glaciers, which advect cold continental ice. Melting at the bottom surface of the ice shelf increases its rigidity, while freezing decreases it. Accurate numerical modelling of ice shelf flow must account for this spatial variability in mechanical characteristics.
Plans for living on a restless planet sets NASA's solid Earth agenda
What are the most important challenges facing solid Earth science today and over the next two decades? And what is the best approach for NASA, in partnership with other agencies, to address these challenges? A new report, living on a restless planet, provides a blueprint for answering these questions. The top priority for a new spacecraft mission in the area of solid earth science over the next 5 years, according to this report, is a satellite dedicated to interferometric synthetic aperture radar(inSAR).
Mass balance and present-day Antarctic rebound and gravity change
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Ice mass balance and antarctic gravity change: satellite and terrestrial perspectives
Recent improvements in the spatial and temporal retrieval of land-basecd cryospheric change information south of 42.5 detree allows fairly robust construction of forward model predictions of the time-rate of change in gravity.
On the effect of grounding-line retreat on the ice flow of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica
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Mass balance of Antarctica and predicted gravity and geoid change signatures with implications for the secular zonal harmonic budget
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Observation and modelling of the evolution of a field of rifts near Hemmen Ice Rise, Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica
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New results on the estimation of the mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from the mass-budget method
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Characteristics and change in ice flow dynamics of Pine Island Glacier
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Process involved in the propagation of rifts across the Ronne Ice Shelf, near the region of Hemmen Ice Rise
We use radar interferometric images collected by ERS-1 and Radarsat-1 to observe the rupture tip of rifts along Hemmen Ice Rise on the Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Interferograms generated in 1992 and 1997 allow us to observe the deformation of ice accumulated over respectively 9 and24 days. The results are an important step towards developing a better model of ice-shelf calving mechanism.
Force balance of Pine Island Glacier and other fast-moving glaciers in Antarctica
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Rapid bottom melting widespread near Antarctic ice sheet grounding lines
As continental ice from Antartica reaches the grounding line and begins to float, its underside melts into the ocean. Results obtained with satellite radar interferometry reveal that bottom melt rates experienced by large outlet glaciers near their grounding lines are far higher than generally assumed.
Contribution to the glaciology of northern Greenland from satellite radar interferometry
Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data from the ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellites are used to measure the surface velocity, topography, and grounding line position of the major outletglaciers in the northern sector of the Greenland ice sheet.
On the present-day mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet
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