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Laurent

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #150 on: March 13, 2014, 11:51:57 AM »
You gave me the answer. I was more thinking of the size of the moving glacier but I have a good idea now, thanks.

AbruptSLR

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #151 on: March 14, 2014, 06:46:57 PM »
The attached image of PIIS is from Terra for March 14, 2014, and I believe that it shows some minor calving from the shear fractured glacial ice from the arm of the notch that points East by Southeast.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #152 on: March 14, 2014, 10:29:12 PM »
The first attached image is from Landsat March 14 2014 focused on the notch area of the PIIS and it show that some sea ice re-freezing is occurring now with the notch.

The second image should be compared to the third image, both of the SW Tributary Corner of the PIIS, for March 14 and March 7 (with some cloud cover), 2014, respectively.  These images show the area of the shelf that formed an iceberg on March 12 2014.
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“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #155 on: March 16, 2014, 01:40:03 PM »
Thanks ASLR but we could both learn from JimHunt, check out his link on comment 45 of The 2014 Melting Season.

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #156 on: March 17, 2014, 08:48:19 PM »
The PIIS is covered with clouds today so I am posting this March 17 2014 Terra image of Thwaites to show that it looks like the re-freeze of local sea ice is starting to become more serious (at least around Thwaites).
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #157 on: March 20, 2014, 06:26:17 PM »
The attached March 19 2014 Landsat images of the PIIS and Thwaites, respectively, have a lot of cloud cover, but I am posting them anyway, as these may be some of the best images that we see for a will due to both increasing cloud cover and the increasing austral Fall darkness.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #158 on: March 21, 2014, 08:38:35 PM »
As there is too much cloud cover to see anything today, I thought that I would post yesterday's (March 20 2014) somewhat cloudy Terra image of the PIIS showing little change from before.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #159 on: March 22, 2014, 01:03:05 AM »
The clouds only revealed portions of Thwaites today, so the attached is an Aqua image for March 21 2014, which indicated very little change, with only a little new sea ice.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #160 on: March 26, 2014, 01:10:25 AM »
Attached are images for the PIIS and Thwaites, respectively, from Terra for March 25, 2014; indicating that the sea ice refreeze is advancing.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #161 on: March 26, 2014, 09:57:05 PM »
This Terra images of the PIIS are from March 26 2014 and they show that the local freezing of the sea ice is accelerating.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #162 on: March 30, 2014, 04:51:10 AM »
The attached Aqua image of the PIIS for March 29 2014, indicates that there are areas of sea ice refreezing at the eastern end of the arm of the notch.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #163 on: April 02, 2014, 03:16:21 AM »
Attached is an April 1 2014 Aqua image of Thwaites.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #164 on: April 12, 2014, 01:03:48 AM »
The attached Terra image of the PIIS taken on April 11 2014 shows that the notch area is still not fully frozen in with sea ice, possibly due to the warming action of the advection of warm CDW.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #165 on: April 15, 2014, 01:01:24 AM »
The attached Terra image for April 14 2014, only shows a portion of the PIIS; nevertheless it shows that sea ice still have not completely in-filled the notch; indicating that advection is keeping the SST in this limited area relatively warm.
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Wipneus

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #166 on: April 17, 2014, 07:14:10 AM »
First images of the Sentinel-1A is released:

Quote
Acquired on 13 April 2014 at 09:03 GMT (11:03 CEST) this image covers parts of Pine Island Glacier  and Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. This image is among the first from Sentinel-1A, which was launched on 3 April. It was acquired in ‘Interferometric Wide Swath’ mode with a swath width of 250 km and in single polarisation. With Pine Island Glacier in a state of irreversible retreat, the Sentinel-1 mission is set to be an excellent tool for monitoring such glaciers as well as for providing timely information on many other aspects of the polar regions, such as sea ice and icebergs.



Hi-res image here

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/04/Pine_Island_and_Thwaites_Glaciers_from_Sentinel-1A

AbruptSLR

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #167 on: April 17, 2014, 10:42:09 PM »
Wipneus,

Thank you for the excellent photo & link; however, when I look at the image I do not see any part of the Pine Island Ice Shelf, but I do see that the Thwaites Ice Shelf is continuing to shed bergy-bits; which indicates to me that advection is very strong in the ASE and that if we get a Super El Nino in 2014-15 we will like see a lot more calving events both for PIIS and Thwaites latter this year and next.

Best,
ASLR
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #168 on: April 17, 2014, 10:59:00 PM »
Wipneus,

Your post about the Sentinel-1A image encouraged me to look back over the recent Terra & Aqua images of Thwaites for April and I found the two attached images.

The first attached image is from Terra for April 8 2014 and the second attached image is from Aqua for April 14 2014; both of which support the general condition of Thwaites indicated by the Sentinel-1A image.

Best,
ASLR
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #169 on: April 18, 2014, 12:26:30 AM »
The following is a description of the Sentinel-1A satellite system:

"The first in the series, Sentinel-1, carries an advanced radar instrument to provide an all-weather, day-and-night supply of imagery of Earth’s surface.

The C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) builds on ESA’s and Canada’s heritage SAR systems on ERS-1, ERS-2, Envisat and Radarsat.

As a constellation of two satellites orbiting 180° apart, the mission images the entire Earth every six days. As well as transmitting data to a number of ground stations around the world for rapid dissemination, Sentinel-1 also carries a laser to transmit data to the geostationary European Data Relay System for continual data delivery.

The mission will benefit numerous services. For example, services that relate to the monitoring of Arctic sea-ice extent, routine sea-ice mapping, surveillance of the marine environment, including oil-spill monitoring and ship detection for maritime security, monitoring land-surface for motion risks, mapping for forest, water and soil management and mapping to support humanitarian aid and crisis situations.

The design of Sentinel-1 with its focus on reliability, operational stability, global coverage and quick data delivery is expected to enable the development of new applications and meet the evolving needs of Copernicus."

per the following site:

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1

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Wipneus

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #170 on: April 18, 2014, 01:12:29 PM »
PIG Iceberg B31 is image-of-the-day of NASA's Earth Observatory.

Check out this link for a nice overview, more images and video.

Quote
As of April 11, 2014, the U.S. National Ice Center (NIC) reported that B31 was 33 kilometers long and 20 kilometers wide (18 by 11 nautical miles). “While some mass was lost very early on in the life of B-31, it has remained pretty much the same shape since early December and is still about six times the size of Manhattan,” Bigg said. “Going on measurements of Pine Island glacier before the calving—and hints of partial grounding in the history of the iceberg movement—we think it is possibly 500 meters thick.”

NIC last observed B31 at 72° 23' South latitude, 108° 03' West longitude. Bigg added that “the iceberg is now well out of Pine Island Bay and will soon join the more general flow in the Southern Ocean, which could be east or west in this region.”



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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #171 on: April 18, 2014, 01:53:32 PM »
That chunk is about as large as the average yearly mass loss of the GIS! A mighty ice-cream on the run.

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #172 on: April 18, 2014, 06:42:11 PM »
The following is a description of the Sentinel-1A satellite system

More on the Sentinel 1 thread, including news of a near collision with another satellite!
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #173 on: April 23, 2014, 04:04:31 PM »
The following link leads to a nice YouTube video about Ice Island (Iceberg) B31:


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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #174 on: August 05, 2014, 08:31:04 PM »
The attached Sentinel-1 image is also (see image in Reply #166) taken on April 13 2014, and it shows more detail about how fragmented the old Thwaites Ice Tongue (in Pine Island Bay) was on that date:
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #175 on: August 29, 2014, 06:26:42 PM »
Arcuate crevasses on the trunk of PIG, Sentinel-1 dual-pol 23/08/2014. The scale of this thing is mind-boggling - the width of the scene is 70km!

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #176 on: August 30, 2014, 02:07:04 AM »
nukefix,

Thanks for the awesome image of the trunk of the PIG.  Do you have any idea how to locate this image relative to the calving face of the PIIS?

Best,
ASLR
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #177 on: August 30, 2014, 01:04:13 PM »
The features are about 150km upstream of the calving face, I'm trying to make a full overview image but keep having some software glitches.

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #178 on: September 02, 2014, 10:51:11 AM »
Here's the full view of the trunk, the features in the close-up are ~150km upstream from the calving front. I wonder how much snow&firn  is covering those crevasses..? (Please ignore the legend, the data is uncalibrated so the numbers are bunk.)

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #179 on: September 02, 2014, 04:08:51 PM »
nukefix,

Thanks for putting these images into context.  When those crevasses (covered with snow, or not) reach the caving face, it would seem believable that the PIG could loses its ice shelf, in much the same way as the Jakobshavn Glacier has lost its ice shelf.  It will be interesting to watch in the coming years.

Best,
ASLR
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #180 on: September 02, 2014, 05:15:14 PM »
I believe it's normal to have crevasses at that area of the trunk, so business as usual. Here's a full-resolution zoom to show detail of the features (legend is bunk again). The crevasses are covered with snow and firn, I'll try to check how deep under the surface they are.

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #181 on: September 04, 2014, 10:04:02 PM »
Isn't it the case that the PIG meets a small hill/mountain just before it flows out into the sea?  Could it be that which is causing the Crevasses?

I know that the sheet is melting underneath and towards this rise, but I was not aware of whether it had reached it or not.  I couldn't see the sheet losing enough mass until there was sufficient melt and lubrication to get it over the rise which is blocking the loss of ice.  Even so discharge has amplified simply with the shelf breakup.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #182 on: September 05, 2014, 12:30:09 AM »
NeilT,

As the crevasses that nukefix is showing are located about 150 km upstream from the calving face, it is not possible that these crevasses are related to the rise that is currently helping to pin the Pine Island Ice Shelf, PIIS.  Crevasses occur naturally in ice streams; however, the number and extent of the crevasses in PIG are probably increasing as the velocity of the ice increases. 

My concern is that as the PIIS thins (due to basal melting), it will come unpinned from the rise (pinnacle), and then after some years (or decades) the PIIS could break-up; which would cause calving of PIG at the grounding line, along the crevasses in the ice stream, as currently occurs at Jakobshavn.

Best,
ASLR
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #183 on: September 16, 2014, 12:48:23 AM »
The attached Terra image for Sept 15 2014 shows a portion of the PIIS; indicating that advection is keeping the SST in this limited area relatively warm, and that the notch is comparable (or larger) in size to what it was in late March, early April, 2014:
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #184 on: September 16, 2014, 12:56:06 AM »
Attached is the first Landsat8 image for Sept 15 2014 for the PIIS, confirming the Terra image in my previous post:

edit: I am providing the enlarged second image, but apparently there still is not enough sunlight to fully utilize the Landsat8's greater resolution (than Terra/Aqua).
« Last Edit: September 16, 2014, 01:31:41 AM by AbruptSLR »
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #185 on: September 19, 2014, 08:32:39 AM »
Here is an animation of the Sep 15 Landsat 8 image and one taken from the same orbital position on Feb 19.
The quality of the first image is indeed not so good, sun elevation is only 5.4 degrees, but the common features are easily visible.
I measure a distance of 2125m between the two images, which translates to an average speed of 10.2 m/day. That is slightly larger than the speeds during last summer season.

(resolution reduced to 60m to reduce the image size )

(needs a click to animate)

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #186 on: September 19, 2014, 04:53:23 PM »
Wipneus,

Thanks for the great animation, which in addition to indicating that the PIIS flow velocity has slight increased from the last austral summer to the current austral Winter/Early-Spring, also indicates to me that:

1. The PIIS face (and in particular the notch area) is currently actively calving (as the floating icebergs  clearly just recently calved).
2. The PIIS face is distorting both due to shear and rotational ice strain (particularly in the notch area).
3.  I suspect that basal ice melting in the notch area is making the pinning action of the local pinnacle less effective; which should lead to accelerating future ice flow rates, and accelerated ice calving event.

Furthermore, when you compare your Landsat8 image from Sept 15, with the attached Terra images from Sept 17 and 18, respectively, you can see that a local calving event in the Southwest corner of the PIIS face, leaves a small local notch in that Southwest corner visible in the Sept 18 image.

Best,
ASLR

edit: Note that north is to the left of these images.
« Last Edit: September 19, 2014, 05:56:02 PM by AbruptSLR »
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #187 on: September 19, 2014, 06:02:08 PM »
Just to elaborate on my point that a significant calving event happened in the notch area before Sept 15 (probably around Sept 11 or 12), attached is an Aqua image from Sept 9 2014 showing that the area just Southwest of the large notch had not calved yet but by Sept 15, it had clearly calved.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #188 on: September 19, 2014, 08:21:08 PM »
The attached Aqua image of the PIIS from Sept 13 2014, shows the icebergs shortly after they calved on either Sept 11 or 12 2014:
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #189 on: September 21, 2014, 04:26:08 PM »
While Wipneus seems to be able to download higher resolution Landsat 8 images than I seem to be doing; nevertheless, I attach the accompanying Landsat 8 image of the PIIS taken on Sept 20 2014; which shows no new calving activity after Sept 17 2014:
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #190 on: September 22, 2014, 01:33:56 AM »
I am posting the blue-tinted Aqua image of PIIS from Sept 21 2014 in order to help see though the clouds; and while I might be wrong, it looks to me like calving is occurring in the Southwest corner of the PIIS (near the SW Tributary Glacier):
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #191 on: September 22, 2014, 06:07:28 PM »
The attached Aqua image from the late afternoon of Sept 21 2014, indicates that if any calving occurred in the southwest portion of the PIIS, then it must have been relatively minor.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #192 on: September 24, 2014, 08:13:13 PM »
Here is today's Terra PIIA image showing little, or no, calving activity since my last post:
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #193 on: September 24, 2014, 11:50:18 PM »
I thought that the two attached images from Terra for the afternoon of Sept 24 2014, as:
(a) the first image of PIIS is clearer than this morning's image; and (b) the image of Thwaites is the first clear image of the current melt season and shows that the sea ice is already beginning to crack-up near Thwaites.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #194 on: September 28, 2014, 04:16:18 AM »
Attached is the Aqua image of the PIIS for Sept 27 2014, showing little change from the Sept 24 2014 image; however, I am still concerned that the Southwest corner of the PIIS may degrade as the melting season progresses.
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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #195 on: September 30, 2014, 08:45:58 PM »
I think that to get higher resolution Landsat 8 image, Wipneus orders larger files, but as I am too lazy to do that, I attach the Landsat 8 image for Sept 29 2014 at the resolution that can be downloaded from their website.  In any event, this image indicates almost no change to the PIIS calving face.
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #196 on: October 03, 2014, 12:43:46 AM »
The attached Terra image of Thwaites for Oct 2 2014 show that there has not been much change in the surrounding sea ice since the Sept 24 2014 images shown in Reply #193:
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #197 on: October 12, 2014, 01:01:31 AM »
As a follow-up to Reply #196, the attached image of the Thwaites Ice Shelf area taken by Terra on Oct 11 2014, shows that the degradation of the sea ice in this area is beginning to accelerate:
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #198 on: October 20, 2014, 07:22:51 PM »
While it has been cloudy in the ASE for over three weeks, which likely means that it has been snowing in this area.  Nevertheless, the attached Terra image of the PIIS for Oct 20 2014 clearly shows recent calving activity in the notch (in the northeast end of the ice shelf face); which to me indicates that the advection of warm CDW is continuing to cause basal ice melting in the PIIS.
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

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Re: Pine Island Glacier (PIG) Calving and Discussion
« Reply #199 on: October 21, 2014, 05:41:55 PM »
The attached Terra image of the PIIS taken today (Oct 21 2014), shows even more calving in the notch area than yesterday:
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson