Pine Island Glacier Ice Flows and Elevation Change

  • Released Monday, November 28th, 2011
  • Updated Tuesday, November 14th, 2023 at 12:01AM
  • ID: 3889

This animation shows glacier changes detected by ATM, ICESat and ice bridge data in the highly dynamic Pine Island Glacier. We know that ice speeds in this area have increased dramatically from the late 1990s to the present as the ice shelves in this area have thinned and the bottom of the ice has lost contact with the bed beneath. As the ice has accelerated, ice upstream of the coast must be stretched more vigorously, causing it to thin. NASA-sponsored aircraft missions first measured the ice surface height in this region in 2002, followed by ICESat data between 2002 and 2009. Ice Bridge aircraft have measured further surface heights in 2009 and 2010, and these measurements continue today. Integrating these altimetry sources allows us to estimate surface height changes throughout the drainage regions of the most important glaciers in the region. We see large and accelerating elevation changes extending inland from the coast on Pine Island glacier shown centered here. The changes on Pine Island mark these as potential continuing sources of ice to the sea, and has been surveyed in 2011 by Ice Bridge aircraft and targeted for repeat measurements in coming years.

Animation showing ice velocity and elevation change with dates, labels and colorbars.

The above animation without the title, date and colorbar overlay

A still image showing velocity vectors to represent the average flow of the ice between 1994 and 1996. See the ice velocity colorbar below.

A still image showing velocity vectors to represent the average flow of the ice between 1994 and 1996. See the ice velocity colorbar below.

A still image showing velocity vectors to represent the flow of the ice movement in 2008. See the ice velocity colorbar below.

A still image showing velocity vectors to represent the flow of the ice movement in 2008. See the ice velocity colorbar below.

Image showing the surface height change from 2002 to 2011. See the elevation change colorbar below.

Image showing the surface height change from 2002 to 2011. See the elevation change colorbar below.

The label, date and colorbar overlay with transparency

The color bar used to show the ice velocity vector flows

The color bar used to show the ice velocity vector flows

The color bar used to show the change in elevation

The color bar used to show the change in elevation

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Missions

This visualization is related to the following missions:

Datasets used in this visualization

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