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Investigating Antarctic ice-ocean processes using satellite and in situ observations
Savidge, Elena L.
Savidge, Elena L.
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2024
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This thesis investigates the interactions between Antarctic ice shelves and the surrounding ocean, with a focus on the dynamic processes affecting Pine Island Glacier (PIG)—one of Antarctica’s most rapidly changing glaciers. Using both space-borne and ground-based observations, I explore the critical role of sensible-heat polynyas—open-water areas within sea ice—in ice shelf stability and examine recent significant structural changes impacting PIG's southern ice shelf. I generate the first multi-decadal record of polynya extent in Antarctica, which reveals substantial interannual variability and a potential link between polynya activity and ice shelf rifting processes that ultimately result in iceberg calving. Observations of PIG's southern shelf from 2017 to 2023 highlight an increasingly unstable glacier configuration, suggesting future calving events may significantly alter its dynamics and stability. These findings underscore the complex interactions between ice and ocean in Antarctica and highlight the critical need for sophisticated observational tools and comprehensive long-term data collection to improve our conceptual understanding and detailed quantification of these systems. This work not only enhances our understanding of ice-ocean dynamics by detailing how changes in polynya extent and ice shelf dynamics directly influence ice shelf stability, but also highlights the broader implications of these observed changes for predicting future transformations in polar regions.
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