Detailed ice loss pattern in the northern Antarctic Peninsula: widespread decline driven by ice front retreats

Abstract

The northern Antarctic Peninsula (nAP, 3 a−1 and 24.9± 7.8 Gt a−1, equal to −0.73 m a−1 w.e. for the study area. Mass loss is the highest for eastern glaciers affected by major ice shelf collapses in 1995 and 2002, where twelve glaciers account for 60% of the total imbalance. However, losses at smaller rates occur throughout the nAP, at both high and low elevation, despite increased snow accumulation along the western coast and ridge crest. We interpret the widespread mass loss to be driven by decades of ice front retreats on both sides of the nAP, and extended throughout the ice sheet due to the propagation of kinematic waves triggered at the fronts into the interior.