Work

Sustained Ice Loss and Ice‐Shelf Flow Reorganization in the Carney‐Duncan Sector, Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica (2010–2026)

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Small islands and ice rumples can regulate ice‐shelf flow, but conventional satellite altimetry poorly resolves their evolution. Here we use CryoSat‐2 SARIn swath altimetry to quantify surface‐elevation and volume changes over the Carney‐Duncan sector at the outer margin of West Antarctica's Getz Ice Shelf. From July 2010 to March 2026, this sector lost ice at a rate of approximately 2.1 km 3 yr −1 , resulting in an integrated loss of more than 30 km 3 . Thinning was concentrated along valley troughs and fast‐flowing corridors, where swath‐derived estimates resolve stronger thinning than the previous multi‐mission altimetry product. Landsat imagery shows progressive unanchoring of the ice rumple within the Carney‐Duncan passage since 1973, with more pronounced retreat after 2002, accompanied by local speed‐up and flow reorganization linked to the Stockholm and Bali Glaciers. These results link localized thinning to weakened pinning and demonstrate that changes in small peripheral features can reorganize Antarctic ice‐shelf flow.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: 10.1029/2026gl126004