Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-403-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-403-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
18 Feb 2020
| 18 Feb 2020
Glaciers and climate of the Upper Susitna basin, Alaska
Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, 1787 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, USA
Regine Hock
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, USA
Gabriel Wolken
Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, AK 99709-3707, USA
Erin Whorton
Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, AK 99709-3707, USA
USGS Washington Water Science Center, Tacoma, WA 98402, USA
Caroline Aubry-Wake
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, USA
Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 1K2, Canada
Juliana Braun
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, USA
Willis Re, London, EC3M 7DQ, UK
Alessio Gusmeroli
International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Will Harrison
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, USA
Andrew Hoffman
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320, USA
Anna Liljedahl
Water & Environmental Research Center and International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5860, USA
Jing Zhang
Department of Physics and Department of Energy & Environmental Systems, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA
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The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-143, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2022-143, 2022
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A. Hasan, C. Witharana, M. R. Udawalpola, and A. K. Liljedahl
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVI-M-2-2022, 103–109, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVI-M-2-2022-103-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVI-M-2-2022-103-2022, 2022
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Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVI-M-2-2022, 203–208, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVI-M-2-2022-203-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVI-M-2-2022-203-2022, 2022
Ryan L. Crumley, David F. Hill, Katreen Wikstrom Jones, Gabriel J. Wolken, Anthony A. Arendt, Christina M. Aragon, Christopher Cosgrove, and Community Snow Observations Participants
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4651–4680, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4651-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4651-2021, 2021
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A. Hasan, M. R. Udawalpola, C. Witharana, and A. K. Liljedahl
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIV-M-3-2021, 67–72, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIV-M-3-2021-67-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIV-M-3-2021-67-2021, 2021
M. Udawalpola, A. Hasan, A. K. Liljedahl, A. Soliman, and C. Witharana
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIV-M-3-2021, 175–180, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIV-M-3-2021-175-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIV-M-3-2021-175-2021, 2021
Daniel R. Shapero, Jessica A. Badgeley, Andrew O. Hoffman, and Ian R. Joughin
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 4593–4616, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-4593-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-4593-2021, 2021
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Dhiraj Pradhananga, John W. Pomeroy, Caroline Aubry-Wake, D. Scott Munro, Joseph Shea, Michael N. Demuth, Nammy Hang Kirat, Brian Menounos, and Kriti Mukherjee
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Andrew O. Hoffman, Knut Christianson, Daniel Shapero, Benjamin E. Smith, and Ian Joughin
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C. Witharana, M. A. E. Bhuiyan, and A. K. Liljedahl
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLIV-M-2-2020, 111–116, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIV-M-2-2020-111-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIV-M-2-2020-111-2020, 2020
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The Cryosphere, 13, 1767–1784, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1767-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1767-2019, 2019
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We present a new statistical model for converting snow depths to water equivalent. The only variables required are snow depth, day of year, and location. We use the location to look up climatological parameters such as mean winter precipitation and mean temperature difference (difference between hottest month and coldest month). The model is simple by design so that it can be applied to depth measurements anywhere, anytime. The model is shown to perform better than other widely used approaches.
Andrew O. Hoffman, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Knut Christianson, and Christine Hvidberg
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 8, 149–159, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-149-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-149-2019, 2019
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We present the design considerations and deployment of an autonomous modular terrestrial rover for ice-sheet exploration that is inexpensive, easy to construct, and allows for instrumentation customization. The rover proved capable of driving over 20 km on a single charge with a drawbar pull of 250 N, which is sufficient to tow commercial ground-penetrating radars. Due to its low cost, low power requirements, and simple modular design, mass deployments of this rover design are practicable.
Ian Allison, Charles Fierz, Regine Hock, Andrew Mackintosh, Georg Kaser, and Samuel U. Nussbaumer
Hist. Geo Space. Sci., 10, 97–107, https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-10-97-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-10-97-2019, 2019
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The International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) became the eighth and most recent association of IUGG in July 2007. IACS was launched in recognition of the importance of the cryosphere, particularly at a time of significant global change. The forbears of IACS, however, start with the 1894 Commission Internationale des Glaciers (CIG). This paper traces the transition from CIG to IACS; scientific objectives that drove activities and changes, and key events and individuals involved.
Haruko M. Wainwright, Anna K. Liljedahl, Baptiste Dafflon, Craig Ulrich, John E. Peterson, Alessio Gusmeroli, and Susan S. Hubbard
The Cryosphere, 11, 857–875, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-857-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-857-2017, 2017
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Snow has a profound impact on permafrost and ecosystem functioning in the Arctic tundra. This paper aims to characterize the variability of end-of-winter snow depth and its relationship to topography in ice-wedge polygon tundra of Arctic Alaska. In addition, we develop a Bayesian geostatistical method to integrate multiscale observational platforms (a snow probe, ground penetrating radar, unmanned aerial system and airborne lidar) for estimating snow depth in high resolution over a large area.
Torbjørn Ims Østby, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Jon Ove Hagen, Regine Hock, Jack Kohler, and Carleen H. Reijmer
The Cryosphere, 11, 191–215, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-191-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-191-2017, 2017
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We present modelled climatic mass balance for all glaciers in Svalbard for the period 1957–2014 at 1 km resolution using a coupled surface energy balance and snowpack model, thereby closing temporal and spatial gaps in direct and geodetic mass balance estimates.
Supporting previous studies, our results indicate increased mass loss over the period.
A detailed analysis of the involved energy fluxes reveals that increased mass loss is caused by atmospheric warming further amplified by feedbacks.
Lei Cai, Vladimir A. Alexeev, Christopher D. Arp, Benjamin M. Jones, Anna Liljedahl, and Anne Gädeke
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2016-31, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2016-31, 2016
Preprint withdrawn
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This study produced a high-resolution dynamical downscaling data set for the Alaskan North Slope and surrounding areas. It helps to resolve the problem of the sparse observation over this region, where routinely and accurately measuring climatic variables is extremely difficult. This data set boosts up multiple research projects that explore the various climatic impacts over the Alaskan North Slope of the past and the future.
Lei Cai, Vladimir A. Alexeev, Christopher D. Arp, Benjamin M. Jones, Anna Liljedahl, and Anne Gädeke
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-87, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-87, 2016
Preprint withdrawn
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This paper introduces the development process of a data set that specifically made for climatic impacts research over the Alaskan North Slope. This data set can offset to some extent the sparseness of observation on spatial and temporal scales, retrieving high-resolution climatic backgrounds that enable various studies in the fields of climatology, hydrology, ecology, etc.
A. L. Atchley, S. L. Painter, D. R. Harp, E. T. Coon, C. J. Wilson, A. K. Liljedahl, and V. E. Romanovsky
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Development and calibration of a process-rich model representation of thaw-depth dynamics in Arctic tundra is presented. Improved understanding of polygonal tundra thermal hydrology processes, of thermal conduction, surface and subsurface saturation and snowpack dynamics is gained by using measured field data to calibrate and refine model structure. The refined model is then used identify future data needs and observational studies.
D. Zona, D. A. Lipson, J. H. Richards, G. K. Phoenix, A. K. Liljedahl, M. Ueyama, C. S. Sturtevant, and W. C. Oechel
Biogeosciences, 11, 5877–5888, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-5877-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-5877-2014, 2014
L. Liu, K. Schaefer, A. Gusmeroli, G. Grosse, B. M. Jones, T. Zhang, A. D. Parsekian, and H. A. Zebker
The Cryosphere, 8, 815–826, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-815-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-815-2014, 2014
A. Gusmeroli and G. Grosse
The Cryosphere, 6, 1435–1443, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1435-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1435-2012, 2012
Related subject area
Glaciology
Calving front positions for 42 key glaciers of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet: a sub-seasonal record from 2013 to 2023 based on deep-learning application to Landsat multi-spectral imagery
Ice thickness and bed topography of Jostedalsbreen ice cap, Norway
PRODEM: an annual series of summer DEMs (2019 through 2022) of the marginal areas of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Climate and ablation observations from automatic ablation and weather stations at A. P. Olsen Ice Cap transect, northeast Greenland, for May 2008 through May 2022
Glaciological and meteorological monitoring at Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites Mullwitzkees and Venedigerkees, Austria, 2006–2022
A newly digitized ice-penetrating radar data set acquired over the Greenland ice sheet in 1971–1979
Multitemporal characterization of a proglacial system: a multidisciplinary approach
Spatial and temporal stable water isotope data from the upper snowpack at the EastGRIP camp site, NE Greenland, sampled in summer 2018
High temporal resolution records of the velocity of Hansbreen, a tidewater glacier in Svalbard
A high-resolution calving front data product for marine-terminating glaciers in Svalbard
Spatial and temporal variability of environmental proxies from the top 120 m of two ice cores in Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica)
Inventory of glaciers and perennial snowfields of the conterminous USA
A comprehensive and version-controlled database of glacial lake outburst floods in High Mountain Asia
Unlocking archival maps of the Hornsund fjord area for monitoring glaciers of the Sørkapp Land peninsula, Svalbard
Antarctic Ice Sheet paleo-constraint database
Ice-core data used for the construction of the Greenland Ice-Core Chronology 2005 and 2021 (GICC05 and GICC21)
Antarctic Bedmap data: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) sharing of 60 years of ice bed, surface, and thickness data
A new inventory of High Mountain Asia surging glaciers derived from multiple elevation datasets since the 1970s
Ice core chemistry database: an Antarctic compilation of sodium and sulfate records spanning the past 2000 years
Mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets from 1992 to 2020
Interdecadal glacier inventories in the Karakoram since the 1990s
Landsat- and Sentinel-derived glacial lake dataset in the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor from 1990 to 2020
Processing methodology for the ITS_LIVE Sentinel-1 ice velocity products
Calving fronts and where to find them: a benchmark dataset and methodology for automatic glacier calving front extraction from synthetic aperture radar imagery
Multitemporal glacier inventory revealing four decades of glacier changes in the Ladakh region
A new global dataset of mountain glacier centerlines and lengths
Elevation change of the Antarctic Ice Sheet: 1985 to 2020
2000 years of annual ice core data from Law Dome, East Antarctica
A 41-year (1979–2019) passive-microwave-derived lake ice phenology data record of the Northern Hemisphere
Rescue and homogenization of 140 years of glacier mass balance data in Switzerland
A decade of glaciological and meteorological observations in the Arctic (Werenskioldbreen, Svalbard)
A comprehensive dataset of microbial abundance, dissolved organic carbon, and nitrogen in Tibetan Plateau glaciers
The Greenland Firn Compaction Verification and Reconnaissance (FirnCover) dataset, 2013–2019
Black carbon and organic carbon dataset over the Third Pole
A high-resolution Antarctic grounding zone product from ICESat-2 laser altimetry
An inventory of supraglacial lakes and channels across the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Greenland ice sheet mass balance from 1840 through next week
Global time series and temporal mosaics of glacier surface velocities derived from Sentinel-1 data
GIS dataset: geomorphological record of terrestrial-terminating ice streams, southern sector of the Baltic Ice Stream Complex, last Scandinavian Ice Sheet, Poland
A 15-year circum-Antarctic iceberg calving dataset derived from continuous satellite observations
Active rock glaciers of the contiguous United States: geographic information system inventory and spatial distribution patterns
Mass balances of Yala and Rikha Samba glaciers, Nepal, from 2000 to 2017
Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE) automatic weather station data
Greenland ice velocity maps from the PROMICE project
The AntSMB dataset: a comprehensive compilation of surface mass balance field observations over the Antarctic Ice Sheet
Glacier changes in the Chhombo Chhu Watershed of the Tista basin between 1975 and 2018, the Sikkim Himalaya, India
Hydrometeorological, glaciological and geospatial research data from the Peyto Glacier Research Basin in the Canadian Rockies
Annual 30 m dataset for glacial lakes in High Mountain Asia from 2008 to 2017
More dynamic than expected: an updated survey of surging glaciers in the Pamir
Worldwide version-controlled database of glacier thickness observations
Erik Loebel, Celia A. Baumhoer, Andreas Dietz, Mirko Scheinert, and Martin Horwath
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 65–78, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-65-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-65-2025, 2025
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Glacier calving front positions are important for understanding glacier dynamics and constraining ice modelling. We apply a deep-learning framework to multi-spectral Landsat imagery to create a calving front record for 42 key outlet glaciers of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet. The resulting data product includes 4817 calving front locations from 2013 to 2023 and achieves sub-seasonal temporal resolution.
Mette K. Gillespie, Liss M. Andreassen, Matthias Huss, Simon de Villiers, Kamilla H. Sjursen, Jostein Aasen, Jostein Bakke, Jan M. Cederstrøm, Hallgeir Elvehøy, Bjarne Kjøllmoen, Even Loe, Marte Meland, Kjetil Melvold, Sigurd D. Nerhus, Torgeir O. Røthe, Eivind W. N. Støren, Kåre Øst, and Jacob C. Yde
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5799–5825, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5799-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5799-2024, 2024
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We present an extensive ice thickness dataset from Jostedalsbreen ice cap that will serve as a baseline for future studies of regional climate-induced change. Results show that Jostedalsbreen currently (~2020) has a maximum ice thickness of ~630 m, a mean ice thickness of 154 ± 22 m and an ice volume of 70.6 ±10.2 km3. Ice of less than 50 m thickness covers two narrow regions of Jostedalsbreen, and the ice cap is likely to separate into three parts in a warming climate.
Mai Winstrup, Heidi Ranndal, Signe Hillerup Larsen, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Kenneth D. Mankoff, Robert S. Fausto, and Louise Sandberg Sørensen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5405–5428, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5405-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5405-2024, 2024
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Surface topography across the marginal zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet is constantly evolving. Here we present an annual series (2019–2022) of summer digital elevation models (PRODEMs) for the Greenland Ice Sheet margin, covering all outlet glaciers from the ice sheet. The PRODEMs are based on fusion of CryoSat-2 radar altimetry and ICESat-2 laser altimetry. With their high spatial and temporal resolution, the PRODEMs will enable detailed studies of the changes in marginal ice sheet elevations.
Signe Hillerup Larsen, Daniel Binder, Anja Rutishauser, Bernhard Hynek, Robert Schjøtt Fausto, and Michele Citterio
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 4103–4118, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4103-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4103-2024, 2024
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The Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring programme has been running since 1995. In 2008, the Glaciological monitoring sub-program GlacioBasis was initiated at the Zackenberg site in northeast Greenland, with a transect of three weather stations on the A. P. Olsen Ice Cap. In 2022, the weather stations were replaced with a more standardized set up. Here, we provide the reprocessed and quality-checked data from 2008 to 2022, i.e., the first 15 years of continued monitoring.
Lea Hartl, Bernd Seiser, Martin Stocker-Waldhuber, Anna Baldo, Marcela Violeta Lauria, and Andrea Fischer
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 4077–4101, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4077-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4077-2024, 2024
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Glaciers in the Alps are receding at unprecedented rates. To understand how this affects the hydrology and ecosystems of the affected regions, it is important to measure glacier mass balance and ensure that records of field surveys are kept in standardized formats and well-documented. We describe glaciological measurements of ice ablation and snow accumulation gathered at Mullwitzkees and Venedigerkees, two glaciers in the Austrian Alps, since 2007 and 2012, respectively.
Nanna B. Karlsson, Dustin M. Schroeder, Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Winnie Chu, Jørgen Dall, Natalia H. Andersen, Reese Dobson, Emma J. Mackie, Simon J. Köhn, Jillian E. Steinmetz, Angelo S. Tarzona, Thomas O. Teisberg, and Niels Skou
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3333–3344, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3333-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3333-2024, 2024
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In the 1970s, more than 177 000 km of observations were acquired from airborne radar over the Greenland ice sheet. The radar data contain information on not only the thickness of the ice, but also the properties of the ice itself. This information was recorded on film rolls and subsequently stored. In this study, we document the digitization of these film rolls that shed new and unprecedented detailed light on the Greenland ice sheet 50 years ago.
Elisabetta Corte, Andrea Ajmar, Carlo Camporeale, Alberto Cina, Velio Coviello, Fabio Giulio Tonolo, Alberto Godio, Myrta Maria Macelloni, Stefania Tamea, and Andrea Vergnano
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3283–3306, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3283-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3283-2024, 2024
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The study presents a set of multitemporal geospatial surveys and the continuous monitoring of water flows in a large proglacial area (4 km2) of the northwestern Alps. Activities were developed using a multidisciplinary approach and merge geomatic, hydraulic, and geophysical methods. The goal is to allow researchers to characterize, monitor, and model a number of physical processes and interconnected phenomena, with a broader perspective and deeper understanding than a single-discipline approach.
Alexandra M. Zuhr, Sonja Wahl, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Maria Hörhold, Hanno Meyer, Vasileios Gkinis, and Thomas Laepple
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1861–1874, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1861-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1861-2024, 2024
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We present stable water isotope data from the accumulation zone of the Greenland ice sheet. A spatial sampling scheme covering 39 m and three depth layers was carried out between 14 May and 3 August 2018. The data suggest spatial and temporal variability related to meteorological conditions, such as wind-driven snow redistribution and vapour–snow exchange processes. The data can be used to study the formation of the stable water isotopes signal, which is seen as a climate proxy.
Małgorzata Błaszczyk, Bartłomiej Luks, Michał Pętlicki, Dariusz Puczko, Dariusz Ignatiuk, Michał Laska, Jacek Jania, and Piotr Głowacki
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1847–1860, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1847-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1847-2024, 2024
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Understanding the glacier response to accelerated climate warming in the Arctic requires data obtained in the field. Here, we present a dataset of velocity measurements of Hansbreen, a tidewater glacier in Svalbard. The glacier's velocity was measured with GPS at 16 stakes mounted on the glacier's surface. The measurements were conducted from about 1 week to about 1 month. The dataset offers unique material for validating numerical models of glacier dynamics and satellite-derived products.
Tian Li, Konrad Heidler, Lichao Mou, Ádám Ignéczi, Xiao Xiang Zhu, and Jonathan L. Bamber
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 919–939, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-919-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-919-2024, 2024
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Our study uses deep learning to produce a new high-resolution calving front dataset for 149 marine-terminating glaciers in Svalbard from 1985 to 2023, containing 124 919 terminus traces. This dataset offers insights into understanding calving mechanisms and can help improve glacier frontal ablation estimates as a component of the integrated mass balance assessment.
Sarah Wauthy, Jean-Louis Tison, Mana Inoue, Saïda El Amri, Sainan Sun, François Fripiat, Philippe Claeys, and Frank Pattyn
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 35–58, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-35-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-35-2024, 2024
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The datasets presented are the density, water isotopes, ions, and conductivity measurements, as well as age models and surface mass balance (SMB) from the top 120 m of two ice cores drilled on adjacent ice rises in Dronning Maud Land, dating from the late 18th century. They offer many development possibilities for the interpretation of paleo-profiles and for addressing the mechanisms behind the spatial and temporal variability of SMB and proxies observed at the regional scale in East Antarctica.
Andrew G. Fountain, Bryce Glenn, and Christopher Mcneil
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 4077–4104, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4077-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-4077-2023, 2023
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Glaciers are rapidly shrinking globally. To identify past change and provide a baseline for future change, we inventoried the extent of glaciers and perennial snowfields across the western USA excluding Alaska. Using mostly aerial imagery, we digitized the outlines of all glaciers and perennial snowfields equal to or larger than 0.01 km2 using a geographical information system. We identified 1331 (366.52 km2) glaciers and 1176 (31.00 km2) snowfields.
Finu Shrestha, Jakob F. Steiner, Reeju Shrestha, Yathartha Dhungel, Sharad P. Joshi, Sam Inglis, Arshad Ashraf, Sher Wali, Khwaja M. Walizada, and Taigang Zhang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3941–3961, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3941-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3941-2023, 2023
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A new inventory of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in High Mountain Asia found 697 events, causing 906 deaths, 3 times more than previously reported. This study provides insights into the contributing factors behind GLOFs on a regional scale and highlights the need for interdisciplinary approaches, including scientific communities and local knowledge, to understand GLOF risks in Asia. This study allows integration with other datasets, enabling future local and regional risk assessments.
Justyna Dudek and Michał Pętlicki
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3869–3889, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3869-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3869-2023, 2023
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In our research, we evaluate the potential of archival maps of Hornsund fjord area, southern Spitsbergen, published by the Polish Academy of Sciences for studying glacier changes. Our analysis concerning glaciers in the north-western part of the Sørkapp Land peninsula revealed that, in the period 1961–2010, a maximum lowering of their surface was about 100 m for the largest land-terminating glaciers and over 120 m for glaciers terminating in the ocean (above the line marking their 1984 extents).
Benoit S. Lecavalier, Lev Tarasov, Greg Balco, Perry Spector, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Christo Buizert, Catherine Ritz, Marion Leduc-Leballeur, Robert Mulvaney, Pippa L. Whitehouse, Michael J. Bentley, and Jonathan Bamber
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3573–3596, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3573-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3573-2023, 2023
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The Antarctic Ice Sheet Evolution constraint database version 2 (AntICE2) consists of a large variety of observations that constrain the evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet over the last glacial cycle. This includes observations of past ice sheet extent, past ice thickness, past relative sea level, borehole temperature profiles, and present-day bedrock displacement rates. The database is intended to improve our understanding of past Antarctic changes and for ice sheet model calibrations.
Sune Olander Rasmussen, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Hubertus Fischer, Katrin Fuhrer, Steffen Bo Hansen, Margareta Hansson, Christine S. Hvidberg, Ulf Jonsell, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Urs Ruth, Jakob Schwander, Marie-Louise Siggaard-Andersen, Giulia Sinnl, Jørgen Peder Steffensen, Anders M. Svensson, and Bo M. Vinther
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3351–3364, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3351-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3351-2023, 2023
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Timescales are essential for interpreting palaeoclimate data. The data series presented here were used for annual-layer identification when constructing the timescales named the Greenland Ice-Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05) and the revised version GICC21. Hopefully, these high-resolution data sets will be useful also for other purposes.
Alice C. Frémand, Peter Fretwell, Julien A. Bodart, Hamish D. Pritchard, Alan Aitken, Jonathan L. Bamber, Robin Bell, Cesidio Bianchi, Robert G. Bingham, Donald D. Blankenship, Gino Casassa, Ginny Catania, Knut Christianson, Howard Conway, Hugh F. J. Corr, Xiangbin Cui, Detlef Damaske, Volkmar Damm, Reinhard Drews, Graeme Eagles, Olaf Eisen, Hannes Eisermann, Fausto Ferraccioli, Elena Field, René Forsberg, Steven Franke, Shuji Fujita, Yonggyu Gim, Vikram Goel, Siva Prasad Gogineni, Jamin Greenbaum, Benjamin Hills, Richard C. A. Hindmarsh, Andrew O. Hoffman, Per Holmlund, Nicholas Holschuh, John W. Holt, Annika N. Horlings, Angelika Humbert, Robert W. Jacobel, Daniela Jansen, Adrian Jenkins, Wilfried Jokat, Tom Jordan, Edward King, Jack Kohler, William Krabill, Mette Kusk Gillespie, Kirsty Langley, Joohan Lee, German Leitchenkov, Carlton Leuschen, Bruce Luyendyk, Joseph MacGregor, Emma MacKie, Kenichi Matsuoka, Mathieu Morlighem, Jérémie Mouginot, Frank O. Nitsche, Yoshifumi Nogi, Ole A. Nost, John Paden, Frank Pattyn, Sergey V. Popov, Eric Rignot, David M. Rippin, Andrés Rivera, Jason Roberts, Neil Ross, Anotonia Ruppel, Dustin M. Schroeder, Martin J. Siegert, Andrew M. Smith, Daniel Steinhage, Michael Studinger, Bo Sun, Ignazio Tabacco, Kirsty Tinto, Stefano Urbini, David Vaughan, Brian C. Welch, Douglas S. Wilson, Duncan A. Young, and Achille Zirizzotti
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2695–2710, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2695-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2695-2023, 2023
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This paper presents the release of over 60 years of ice thickness, bed elevation, and surface elevation data acquired over Antarctica by the international community. These data are a crucial component of the Antarctic Bedmap initiative which aims to produce a new map and datasets of Antarctic ice thickness and bed topography for the international glaciology and geophysical community.
Lei Guo, Jia Li, Amaury Dehecq, Zhiwei Li, Xin Li, and Jianjun Zhu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2841–2861, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2841-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2841-2023, 2023
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We established a new inventory of surging glaciers across High Mountain Asia based on glacier elevation changes and morphological changes during 1970s–2020. A total of 890 surging and 336 probably or possibly surging glaciers were identified. Compared to the most recent inventory, this one incorporates 253 previously unidentified surging glaciers. Our results demonstrate a more widespread surge behavior in HMA and find that surging glaciers are prone to have steeper slopes than non-surging ones.
Elizabeth R. Thomas, Diana O. Vladimirova, Dieter R. Tetzner, B. Daniel Emanuelsson, Nathan Chellman, Daniel A. Dixon, Hugues Goosse, Mackenzie M. Grieman, Amy C. F. King, Michael Sigl, Danielle G. Udy, Tessa R. Vance, Dominic A. Winski, V. Holly L. Winton, Nancy A. N. Bertler, Akira Hori, Chavarukonam M. Laluraj, Joseph R. McConnell, Yuko Motizuki, Kazuya Takahashi, Hideaki Motoyama, Yoichi Nakai, Franciéle Schwanck, Jefferson Cardia Simões, Filipe Gaudie Ley Lindau, Mirko Severi, Rita Traversi, Sarah Wauthy, Cunde Xiao, Jiao Yang, Ellen Mosely-Thompson, Tamara V. Khodzher, Ludmila P. Golobokova, and Alexey A. Ekaykin
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2517–2532, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2517-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2517-2023, 2023
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The concentration of sodium and sulfate measured in Antarctic ice cores is related to changes in both sea ice and winds. Here we have compiled a database of sodium and sulfate records from 105 ice core sites in Antarctica. The records span all, or part, of the past 2000 years. The records will improve our understanding of how winds and sea ice have changed in the past and how they have influenced the climate of Antarctica over the past 2000 years.
Inès N. Otosaka, Andrew Shepherd, Erik R. Ivins, Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel, Charles Amory, Michiel R. van den Broeke, Martin Horwath, Ian Joughin, Michalea D. King, Gerhard Krinner, Sophie Nowicki, Anthony J. Payne, Eric Rignot, Ted Scambos, Karen M. Simon, Benjamin E. Smith, Louise S. Sørensen, Isabella Velicogna, Pippa L. Whitehouse, Geruo A, Cécile Agosta, Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Alejandro Blazquez, William Colgan, Marcus E. Engdahl, Xavier Fettweis, Rene Forsberg, Hubert Gallée, Alex Gardner, Lin Gilbert, Noel Gourmelen, Andreas Groh, Brian C. Gunter, Christopher Harig, Veit Helm, Shfaqat Abbas Khan, Christoph Kittel, Hannes Konrad, Peter L. Langen, Benoit S. Lecavalier, Chia-Chun Liang, Bryant D. Loomis, Malcolm McMillan, Daniele Melini, Sebastian H. Mernild, Ruth Mottram, Jeremie Mouginot, Johan Nilsson, Brice Noël, Mark E. Pattle, William R. Peltier, Nadege Pie, Mònica Roca, Ingo Sasgen, Himanshu V. Save, Ki-Weon Seo, Bernd Scheuchl, Ernst J. O. Schrama, Ludwig Schröder, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Thomas Slater, Giorgio Spada, Tyler C. Sutterley, Bramha Dutt Vishwakarma, Jan Melchior van Wessem, David Wiese, Wouter van der Wal, and Bert Wouters
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1597–1616, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1597-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1597-2023, 2023
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By measuring changes in the volume, gravitational attraction, and ice flow of Greenland and Antarctica from space, we can monitor their mass gain and loss over time. Here, we present a new record of the Earth’s polar ice sheet mass balance produced by aggregating 50 satellite-based estimates of ice sheet mass change. This new assessment shows that the ice sheets have lost (7.5 x 1012) t of ice between 1992 and 2020, contributing 21 mm to sea level rise.
Fuming Xie, Shiyin Liu, Yongpeng Gao, Yu Zhu, Tobias Bolch, Andreas Kääb, Shimei Duan, Wenfei Miao, Jianfang Kang, Yaonan Zhang, Xiran Pan, Caixia Qin, Kunpeng Wu, Miaomiao Qi, Xianhe Zhang, Ying Yi, Fengze Han, Xiaojun Yao, Qiao Liu, Xin Wang, Zongli Jiang, Donghui Shangguan, Yong Zhang, Richard Grünwald, Muhammad Adnan, Jyoti Karki, and Muhammad Saifullah
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 847–867, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-847-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-847-2023, 2023
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In this study, first we generated inventories which allowed us to systematically detect glacier change patterns in the Karakoram range. We found that, by the 2020s, there were approximately 10 500 glaciers in the Karakoram mountains covering an area of 22 510.73 km2, of which ~ 10.2 % is covered by debris. During the past 30 years (from 1990 to 2020), the total glacier cover area in Karakoram remained relatively stable, with a slight increase in area of 23.5 km2.
Muchu Lesi, Yong Nie, Dan Hirsh Shugar, Jida Wang, Qian Deng, Huayong Chen, and Jianrong Fan
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 5489–5512, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5489-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5489-2022, 2022
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The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor plays a vital role in foreign trade and faces threats from water shortage and water-related hazards. An up-to-date glacial lake dataset with critical parameters is basic for water resource and flood risk research, which is absent from the corridor. This study created a glacial lake dataset in 2020 from Landsat and Sentinel images from 1990–2000, using a threshold-based mapping method. Our dataset has the potential to be widely applied.
Yang Lei, Alex S. Gardner, and Piyush Agram
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 5111–5137, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5111-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5111-2022, 2022
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This work describes NASA MEaSUREs ITS_LIVE project's Version 2 Sentinel-1 image-pair ice velocity product and processing methodology. We show the refined offset tracking algorithm, autoRIFT, calibration for Sentinel-1 geolocation biases and correction of the ionosphere streaking problems. Validation was performed over three typical test sites covering the globe by comparing with other similar global and regional products.
Nora Gourmelon, Thorsten Seehaus, Matthias Braun, Andreas Maier, and Vincent Christlein
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4287–4313, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4287-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4287-2022, 2022
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Ice loss of glaciers shows in retreating calving fronts (i.e., the position where icebergs break off the glacier and drift into the ocean). This paper presents a benchmark dataset for calving front delineation in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. The dataset can be used to train and test deep learning techniques, which automate the monitoring of the calving front. Provided example models achieve front delineations with an average distance of 887 m to the correct calving front.
Mohd Soheb, Alagappan Ramanathan, Anshuman Bhardwaj, Millie Coleman, Brice R. Rea, Matteo Spagnolo, Shaktiman Singh, and Lydia Sam
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4171–4185, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4171-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4171-2022, 2022
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This study provides a multi-temporal inventory of glaciers in the Ladakh region. The study records data on 2257 glaciers (>0.5 km2) covering an area of ~7923 ± 106 km2 which is equivalent to ~89 % of the total glacierised area of the Ladakh region. It will benefit both the scientific community and the administration of the Union Territory of Ladakh, in developing efficient mitigation and adaptation strategies by improving the projections of change on timescales relevant to policymakers.
Dahong Zhang, Gang Zhou, Wen Li, Shiqiang Zhang, Xiaojun Yao, and Shimei Wei
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3889–3913, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3889-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3889-2022, 2022
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The length of a glacier is a key determinant of its geometry; glacier centerlines are crucial inputs for many glaciological applications. Based on the European allocation theory, we present a new global dataset that includes the centerlines and lengths of 198 137 mountain glaciers. The accuracy of the glacier centerlines was 89.68 %. The constructed dataset comprises 17 sub-datasets which contain the centerlines and lengths of glacier tributaries.
Johan Nilsson, Alex S. Gardner, and Fernando S. Paolo
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3573–3598, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3573-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3573-2022, 2022
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The longest observational record available to study the mass balance of the Earth’s ice sheets comes from satellite altimeters. This record consists of multiple satellite missions with different measurements and quality, and it must be cross-calibrated and integrated into a consistent record for scientific use. Here, we present a novel approach for generating such a record providing a seamless record of elevation change for the Antarctic Ice Sheet that spans the period 1985 to 2020.
Lenneke M. Jong, Christopher T. Plummer, Jason L. Roberts, Andrew D. Moy, Mark A. J. Curran, Tessa R. Vance, Joel B. Pedro, Chelsea A. Long, Meredith Nation, Paul A. Mayewski, and Tas D. van Ommen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3313–3328, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3313-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3313-2022, 2022
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Ice core records from Law Dome in East Antarctica, collected over the the last 3 decades, provide high-resolution data for studies of the climate of Antarctica, Australia and the Southern and Indo-Pacific oceans. Here, we present a set of annually dated records from Law Dome covering the last 2000 years. This dataset provides an update and extensions both forward and back in time of previously published subsets of the data, bringing them together into a coherent set with improved dating.
Yu Cai, Claude R. Duguay, and Chang-Qing Ke
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3329–3347, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3329-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3329-2022, 2022
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Seasonal ice cover is one of the important attributes of lakes in middle- and high-latitude regions. This study used passive microwave brightness temperature measurements to extract the ice phenology for 56 lakes across the Northern Hemisphere from 1979 to 2019. A threshold algorithm was applied according to the differences in brightness temperature between lake ice and open water. The dataset will provide valuable information about the changing ice cover of lakes over the last 4 decades.
Lea Geibel, Matthias Huss, Claudia Kurzböck, Elias Hodel, Andreas Bauder, and Daniel Farinotti
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3293–3312, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3293-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3293-2022, 2022
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Glacier monitoring in Switzerland started in the 19th century, providing exceptional data series documenting snow accumulation and ice melt. Raw point observations of surface mass balance have, however, never been systematically compiled so far, including complete metadata. Here, we present an extensive dataset with more than 60 000 point observations of surface mass balance covering 60 Swiss glaciers and almost 140 years, promoting a better understanding of the drivers of recent glacier change.
Dariusz Ignatiuk, Małgorzata Błaszczyk, Tomasz Budzik, Mariusz Grabiec, Jacek A. Jania, Marta Kondracka, Michał Laska, Łukasz Małarzewski, and Łukasz Stachnik
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2487–2500, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2487-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2487-2022, 2022
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This paper presents details of the glaciological and meteorological dataset (2009–2020) from the Werenskioldbreen (Svalbard). These high-quality and long-term observational data already have been used to assess hydrological models and glaciological studies. The objective of releasing these data is to improve their usage for calibration and validation of the remote sensing products and models, as well as to increase data reuse.
Yongqin Liu, Pengcheng Fang, Bixi Guo, Mukan Ji, Pengfei Liu, Guannan Mao, Baiqing Xu, Shichang Kang, and Junzhi Liu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2303–2314, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2303-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2303-2022, 2022
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Glaciers are an important pool of microorganisms, organic carbon, and nitrogen. This study constructed the first dataset of microbial abundance and total nitrogen in Tibetan Plateau (TP) glaciers and the first dataset of dissolved organic carbon in ice cores on the TP. These new data could provide valuable information for research on the glacier carbon and nitrogen cycle and help in assessing the potential impacts of glacier retreat due to global warming on downstream ecosystems.
Michael J. MacFerrin, C. Max Stevens, Baptiste Vandecrux, Edwin D. Waddington, and Waleed Abdalati
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 955–971, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-955-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-955-2022, 2022
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The vast majority of the Greenland ice sheet's surface is covered by pluriannual snow, also called firn, that accumulates year after year and is compressed into glacial ice. The thickness of the firn layer changes through time and responds to the surface climate. We present continuous measurement of the firn compaction at various depths for eight sites. The dataset will help to evaluate firn models, interpret ice cores, and convert remotely sensed ice sheet surface height change to mass loss.
Shichang Kang, Yulan Zhang, Pengfei Chen, Junming Guo, Qianggong Zhang, Zhiyuan Cong, Susan Kaspari, Lekhendra Tripathee, Tanguang Gao, Hewen Niu, Xinyue Zhong, Xintong Chen, Zhaofu Hu, Xiaofei Li, Yang Li, Bigyan Neupane, Fangping Yan, Dipesh Rupakheti, Chaman Gul, Wei Zhang, Guangming Wu, Ling Yang, Zhaoqing Wang, and Chaoliu Li
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 683–707, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-683-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-683-2022, 2022
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The Tibetan Plateau is important to the Earth’s climate. However, systematically observed data here are scarce. To perform more integrated and in-depth investigations of the origins and distributions of atmospheric pollutants and their impacts on cryospheric change, systematic data of black carbon and organic carbon from the atmosphere, glaciers, snow cover, precipitation, and lake sediment cores over the plateau based on the Atmospheric Pollution and Cryospheric Change program are provided.
Tian Li, Geoffrey J. Dawson, Stephen J. Chuter, and Jonathan L. Bamber
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 535–557, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-535-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-535-2022, 2022
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Accurate knowledge of the Antarctic grounding zone is important for mass balance calculation, ice sheet stability assessment, and ice sheet model projections. Here we present the first ICESat-2-derived high-resolution grounding zone product of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, including three important boundaries. This new data product will provide more comprehensive insights into ice sheet instability, which is valuable for both the cryosphere and sea level science communities.
Diarmuid Corr, Amber Leeson, Malcolm McMillan, Ce Zhang, and Thomas Barnes
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 209–228, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-209-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-209-2022, 2022
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We identify 119 km2 of meltwater area over West Antarctica in January 2017. In combination with Stokes et al., 2019, this forms the first continent-wide assessment helping to quantify the mass balance of Antarctica and its contribution to global sea level rise. We apply thresholds for meltwater classification to satellite images, mapping the extent and manually post-processing to remove false positives. Our study provides a high-fidelity dataset to train and validate machine learning methods.
Kenneth D. Mankoff, Xavier Fettweis, Peter L. Langen, Martin Stendel, Kristian K. Kjeldsen, Nanna B. Karlsson, Brice Noël, Michiel R. van den Broeke, Anne Solgaard, William Colgan, Jason E. Box, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Michalea D. King, Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Signe Bech Andersen, and Robert S. Fausto
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 5001–5025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5001-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5001-2021, 2021
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We estimate the daily mass balance and its components (surface, marine, and basal mass balance) for the Greenland ice sheet. Our time series begins in 1840 and has annual resolution through 1985 and then daily from 1986 through next week. Results are operational (updated daily) and provided for the entire ice sheet or by commonly used regions or sectors. This is the first input–output mass balance estimate to include the basal mass balance.
Peter Friedl, Thorsten Seehaus, and Matthias Braun
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4653–4675, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4653-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4653-2021, 2021
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Consistent and continuous data on glacier surface velocity are important inputs to time series analyses, numerical ice dynamic modeling and glacier mass flux computations. We present a new data set of glacier surface velocities derived from Sentinel-1 radar satellite data that covers 12 major glaciated regions outside the polar ice sheets. The data comprise continuously updated scene-pair velocity fields, as well as monthly and annually averaged velocity mosaics at 200 m spatial resolution.
Izabela Szuman, Jakub Z. Kalita, Marek W. Ewertowski, Chris D. Clark, Stephen J. Livingstone, and Leszek Kasprzak
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4635–4651, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4635-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4635-2021, 2021
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The Baltic Ice Stream Complex was the most prominent ice stream of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet, controlling ice sheet drainage and collapse. Our mapping effort, based on a lidar DEM, resulted in a dataset containing 5461 landforms over an area of 65 000 km2, which allows for reconstruction of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet extent and dynamics from the Middle Weichselian ice sheet advance, 50–30 ka, through the Last Glacial Maximum, 25–21 ka, and Young Baltic advances, 18–15 ka.
Mengzhen Qi, Yan Liu, Jiping Liu, Xiao Cheng, Yijing Lin, Qiyang Feng, Qiang Shen, and Zhitong Yu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4583–4601, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4583-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4583-2021, 2021
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A total of 1975 annual calving events larger than 1 km2 were detected on the Antarctic ice shelves from August 2005 to August 2020. The average annual calved area was measured as 3549.1 km2, and the average calving rate was measured as 770.3 Gt yr-1. Iceberg calving is most prevalent in West Antarctica, followed by the Antarctic Peninsula and Wilkes Land in East Antarctica. This annual iceberg calving dataset provides consistent and precise calving observations with the longest time coverage.
Gunnar Johnson, Heejun Chang, and Andrew Fountain
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3979–3994, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3979-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3979-2021, 2021
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We present the Portland State University Active Rock Glacier Inventory (n = 10 343) for the contiguous United States, derived from manual classification of remote sensing imagery. This geospatial inventory will allow past rock glacier research findings to be spatially extrapolated, facilitating rock glacier research by identifying field study sites and serving as a valuable training set for the development of automated rock glacier identification methods applicable to other regional studies.
Dorothea Stumm, Sharad Prasad Joshi, Tika Ram Gurung, and Gunjan Silwal
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3791–3818, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3791-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3791-2021, 2021
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Glacier mass change data are valuable as a climate indicator and help to verify simulations of glaciological and hydrological processes. Data from the Himalaya are rare; hence, we established monitoring programmes on two glaciers in the Nepal Himalaya. We measured annual mass changes on Yala and Rikha Samba glaciers from 2011 to 2017 and calculated satellite-based mass changes from 2000 to 2012 for Yala Glacier. Both glaciers are shrinking, following the general trend in the Himalayas.
Robert S. Fausto, Dirk van As, Kenneth D. Mankoff, Baptiste Vandecrux, Michele Citterio, Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Signe B. Andersen, William Colgan, Nanna B. Karlsson, Kristian K. Kjeldsen, Niels J. Korsgaard, Signe H. Larsen, Søren Nielsen, Allan Ø. Pedersen, Christopher L. Shields, Anne M. Solgaard, and Jason E. Box
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3819–3845, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3819-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3819-2021, 2021
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The Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE) has been measuring climate and ice sheet properties since 2007. Here, we present our data product from weather and ice sheet measurements from a network of automatic weather stations mainly located in the melt area of the ice sheet. Currently the PROMICE automatic weather station network includes 25 instrumented sites in Greenland.
Anne Solgaard, Anders Kusk, John Peter Merryman Boncori, Jørgen Dall, Kenneth D. Mankoff, Andreas P. Ahlstrøm, Signe B. Andersen, Michele Citterio, Nanna B. Karlsson, Kristian K. Kjeldsen, Niels J. Korsgaard, Signe H. Larsen, and Robert S. Fausto
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3491–3512, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3491-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3491-2021, 2021
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The PROMICE Ice Velocity product is a time series of Greenland Ice Sheet ice velocity mosaics spanning September 2016 to present. It is derived from Sentinel-1 SAR data and has a spatial resolution of 500 m. Each mosaic spans 24 d (two Sentinel-1 cycles), and a new one is posted every 12 d (every Sentinel-1A cycle). The spatial comprehensiveness and temporal consistency make the product ideal for monitoring and studying ice-sheet-wide ice discharge and dynamics of glaciers.
Yetang Wang, Minghu Ding, Carleen H. Reijmer, Paul C. J. P. Smeets, Shugui Hou, and Cunde Xiao
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3057–3074, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3057-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3057-2021, 2021
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Accurate observation of surface mass balance (SMB) under climate change is essential for the reliable present and future assessment of Antarctic contribution to global sea level. This study presents a new quality-controlled dataset of Antarctic SMB observations at different temporal resolutions and is the first ice-sheet-scale compilation of multiple types of measurements. The dataset can be widely applied to climate model validation, remote sensing retrievals, and data assimilation.
Arindam Chowdhury, Milap Chand Sharma, Sunil Kumar De, and Manasi Debnath
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2923–2944, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2923-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2923-2021, 2021
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This is an integrated watershed-based study of glacier change across the Chhombo Chhu Watershed in the Sikkim Himalaya, 1975–2018. This glacier analysis comprised 74 glaciers with a total area of 44.8 ± 1.5 km2 including 64 debris-free glaciers with an area of 28.4 ± 1.1 km2 (63.4 % of total glacier area) in 2018. Mean glacier area of the watershed stands at 0.61 km2, with dominance of small-sized glaciers. Our mapping revealed that there has been a glacier area recession of 17.9 ± 1.7 km2.
Dhiraj Pradhananga, John W. Pomeroy, Caroline Aubry-Wake, D. Scott Munro, Joseph Shea, Michael N. Demuth, Nammy Hang Kirat, Brian Menounos, and Kriti Mukherjee
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2875–2894, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2875-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2875-2021, 2021
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This paper presents hydrological, meteorological, glaciological and geospatial data of Peyto Glacier Basin in the Canadian Rockies. They include high-resolution DEMs derived from air photos and lidar surveys and long-term hydrological and glaciological model forcing datasets derived from bias-corrected reanalysis products. These data are crucial for studying climate change and variability in the basin and understanding the hydrological responses of the basin to both glacier and climate change.
Fang Chen, Meimei Zhang, Huadong Guo, Simon Allen, Jeffrey S. Kargel, Umesh K. Haritashya, and C. Scott Watson
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 741–766, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-741-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-741-2021, 2021
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We developed a 30 m dataset to characterize the annual coverage of glacial lakes in High Mountain Asia (HMA) from 2008 to 2017. Our results show that proglacial lakes are a main contributor to recent lake evolution in HMA, accounting for 62.87 % (56.67 km2) of the total area increase. Regional geographic variability of debris cover, together with trends in warming and precipitation over the past few decades, largely explains the current distribution of supra- and proglacial lake area.
Franz Goerlich, Tobias Bolch, and Frank Paul
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3161–3176, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3161-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3161-2020, 2020
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This work indicates all glaciers in the Pamir that surged between 1988 and 2018 as revealed by different remote sensing data, mainly Landsat imagery. We found ~ 200 surging glaciers for the entire mountain range and detected the minimum and maximum extents of most of them. The smallest surging glacier is ~ 0.3 km2. This inventory is important for further research on the surging behaviour of glaciers and has to be considered when processing glacier changes (mass, area) of the region.
Ethan Welty, Michael Zemp, Francisco Navarro, Matthias Huss, Johannes J. Fürst, Isabelle Gärtner-Roer, Johannes Landmann, Horst Machguth, Kathrin Naegeli, Liss M. Andreassen, Daniel Farinotti, Huilin Li, and GlaThiDa Contributors
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3039–3055, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3039-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3039-2020, 2020
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Knowing the thickness of glacier ice is critical for predicting the rate of glacier loss and the myriad downstream impacts. To facilitate forecasts of future change, we have added 3 million measurements to our worldwide database of glacier thickness: 14 % of global glacier area is now within 1 km of a thickness measurement (up from 6 %). To make it easier to update and monitor the quality of our database, we have used automated tools to check and track changes to the data over time.
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Short summary
Extensive field observations were conducted in the Upper Susitna basin in central Alaska in 2012–2014. This paper describes the weather, glacier mass balance, snow cover, and soils of the basin. We found that temperatures over the glacier are cooler than over land at the same elevation. The glaciers have been losing mass faster in recent years than in the 1980s. Measurements of glacier mass change with traditional methods closely matched radar measurements.
Extensive field observations were conducted in the Upper Susitna basin in central Alaska in...
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