Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Ice Sheet Snowmelt in Antarctica and Greenland Using Microwave Radiometer Data

Abstract

The surface snowmelt on ice sheets in polar areas (ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica) is not only an important sensitive factor of global climate change, but also a key factor that controls the global climate. Spaceborne earth observation provides an efficient means of measuring snowmelt dynamics. Based on an improved ice sheet snowmelt detection algorithm and several new proposed parameters for detecting change, polar ice sheet snowmelt dynamics were monitored and analyzed by using spaceborne microwave radiometer datasets from 1978 to 2014. Our results show that the change in intensity of Greenland and Antarctica snowmelt generally tended to increase and decrease, respectively. Moreover, we show that the de-trended snowmelt change in ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica vary in anti-correlation patterns. Furthermore, analysis in Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, and the Southern Annular Mode suggests that the Atlantic Ocean and atmosphere could be a possible link between the snowmelt variability of the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica.

Keywords

• antarctic ice sheet
• Greenland ice sheet
• snowmelt
• dynamic monitoring
• characteristics