Dynamics of subglacial water exchange

This animation helps to explain the dynamics of subglacial water exchange and how it can be observed from space. It begins with a nadir camera view looking down onto the Antarctic continent, then the camera moves down to a cross section of the ice sheet with lakes hidden deep beneath the ice. As pressure is exerted on one lake, the water in it is forced to an adjacent lake. This water movement results in an elevation change at the surface, detectable by ICESat. The camera then moves to a "top-down" view of a larger system of these hidden lakes and streams before dissolving into actual observed ICESat data (cropped from Fig. 3 of the main text). Movie credit: NASA/GSFC/Susan Twardy.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/1136897/DC1

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Climate
• Antarctica
• Ice
• sheets

[hafricker]

there was a subsequent paper with ben smith, documenting all active lakes in antarctica. the first paper was in science, march 2007, fricker & others.

[Squatchmichael]

Was this the paper with Ben Smith?

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[kottlamakalle]

im really intrested of that :)

[hafricker]

I am the first author of the paper for which this animation was made and delighted to see that it made it onto YouTube! The movie shows subglacial water exchange between lakes under the Antarctic ice sheet. Subglacial lakes like this were recently discovered under ice streams in Antarctica. If you are interested and would like to receive the Science paper, please feel free to contact me.