Mass Balance of the ice Sheet Above the Southern Part of Subglacial Lake Vostok Based on Field Observations
Abstract
In the Antarctic field season 2001/2002, geodetic GPS markers were installed in and around Vostok station and observed for the first time. In the following field season, these observations were repeated. During the field season 2006/2007, a third observation campaign was carried out. These repeated in-situ measurements provide the basis for the precise determination of the local flow direction and velocity of the ice sheet, as well as height change rates for the GPS markers. The changes of the internal geometry between the markers were used for a strain analysis in order to quantify the convergence/divergence and acceleration of the ice flow around Vostok station. We present our results on mass balance state of both the floating ice sheet and the subglacial water body. For this purpose, we combined the marker displacements determined by geodetic means with representative surface accumulation rates and precise ice thickness data from ground-based radar-echo sounding. Due to the hydrostatic equilibrium of the floating ice some conclusions are valid for the entire lake area.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2007
- Bibcode:
- 2007AGUFM.U31B0303R
- Keywords:
-
- 0762 Mass balance (1218;
- 1223);
- 0776 Glaciology (1621;
- 1827;
- 1863)