Keywords: Cryosphere, ice sheets, ice shelves, fieldwork, satellite remote sensing, modeling

Abstract: About 75% of Antarctica is buttressed by floating ice shelves, which regulate the rate that grounded ice is lost to the ocean, where it contributes to sea-level rise. Since the 1990s, many ice shelves have thinned, and in some cases disintegrated. With projected future increases in atmospheric temperatures, models suggest that surface meltwater production will rise non-linearly, and as a result, ice shelves will become more vulnerable to surface meltwater-induced breakup events. Initially focusing on the George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula, I will first present field and satellite-based observations, which reveal insights into the role surface meltwater on ice-shelf dynamics such as flexure and fracture. Second, I will present results of our study which combined satellite microwave data and a sophisticated snow model to quantify Antarctic-wide ice-shelf surface meltwater volume over the last four decades.