Summary

ASAID employs new remote sensing methods applied to multiple satellite data sets (ICESat, Landsat, and InSAR) to complete the first-ever measurement of the total discharge of ice from the grounded Antarctic Ice Sheet. This will significantly reduce the uncertainty in this fundamental characteristic of the ice sheet that heretofore has been based only on the outflow of major outlets. This work also provides the most detailed and comprehensive mapping ever of the grounding line position, as well as ice thickness and velocity along and in the vicinity of the grounding line. These products are sensitive indicators of changes and will serve as benchmark data sets of the International Polar Year suitable for subsequent comparisons to identify and quantify future changes in the ice sheet. An international team of student analysts and professional mentors will use standardized methods to accomplish these objectives. Field validation will be provided to quantify the accuracy of the results. Data products will be made publicly available through the Antarctic data portal hosted at the USGS EROS Data Center and the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Objectives

The primary objectives of ASAID are to create the following benchmark data sets around the
perimeter of Antarctica:
• grounding line position;
• surface elevation in the vicinity of the grounding line;
• ice thickness at and seaward of the grounding line;
• surface velocity in the vicinity of the grounding


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ASAID Contact:

Dr. Robert Bindschadler
Chief Scientist
Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory
Code 614 Bldg. 33, Rm. A112
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 301-614-5707
Greenbelt, MD 20771 301-614-5666 (Fax)
USA This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


List of collaborators:


Country
Colleague/ Institution
Nature of contribution
Area covered

Australia
Neal Young/ACE-CRC and Australian Antarctic Division
Grounding line (Landsat) and RES data
Wilkes Land coast (w/Italy) (43oE to 162oE)

France
Emmanuel LeMeur/LGGE
Ice thickness (proposal pending) w/ Italy
Adelie Coast (137oE to 142oE)

Germany
Daniel Steinhage/Alfred Wegener Institute
Ice thickness
Filchner Ice Shelf to Shirase Gl. (35oW to 37oE)

Italy
Ignazio Tabacco/University of Milan;
Massimo Frezzotti/ENEA - CRE Casaccia
Field RES data and satellite data analysis
Scott Coast (165oE) to Porpoise Bay (128oE) and remainder of Wilkes Land coast (43oE to 128oE) w/Australia

Japan
Makoto Omura/Kochi Women's University; Kazuo Shibuya and Koichiro Doi/ NIPR
Grounding line and InSAR velocities (including new ALOS and PALSAR data)
25oW to 40oE
and where needed

New Zealand
Nancy Bertler/Victoria University
Glacier Ice Thicknesses
Victoria Land (McMurdo vicinity)

New Zealand
Wolfgang Rack and Bryan Storey/Gateway Antarctica (University of Canterbury)
Satellite data analysis
Dronning Maud Land and Victoria Land

Russia
Maxim Moskalevsky
Ice thickness data (most in BEDMAP) and remote sensing analysis
East Antarctica between 20oE and 55oE

UK
David Vaughan, Hugh Corr and Richard Hindmarsh/BAS
Ice thickness data
Pine Island Bay, Rutford Ice Stream, Antarctic Peninsula

UK
Andrew Shepherd/SPRI
InSAR velocities
Amundsen Sea, Antarctic Peninsula

US
Ian Joughin/University of Washington
InSAR velocities
Compilation and gaps (as needed)

US
Eric Rignot/NASA
InSAR velocities
Amundsen Sea coast

US
Ken Jezek/Ohio State University
InSAR velocities and grounding line positions
Much of the perimeter

US
Laurie Padman/ ESR
Tidal models
Where needed

US
Malcolm LeCompte/Elizabeth City State University
Satellite data analysis
Where needed

US
Prasad Gogineni/CReSIS
Ice thickness data
West Antarctica (100oW to 110oW)