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Structure and Dynamics of the Near-surface Layer of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet near the Progress Station (Prydz Bay Area), 2022–2025
https://doi.org/10.7868/S2412376526020018
Abstract
Measurements of snow accumulation and rates of the ice sheet flow supplemented with data of a groundpenetrating radar (GPR) were carried out within the coastal zone of East Antarctica (near the Progress Station). On the average, changes in the snow depth for the 2022/23–2024/25 period were equal to +71, +55, and +23 cm per each balance year. Over the past decade, the interannual variability in snow accumulation has been explained to some extent by the sum of positive degree-days, while its spatial distribution depends on altitude and prevailing wind direction. It has been shown that initial 30 km of the inland traverse route between the Stations Progress and Vostok belong to different ice catchments. The measured ice-flow rates were within the range 6.8–49.7 m/year at the distant part of the profile located in the upper reaches of the Polarårboken Glacier, and only 0.8–2.2 m/year at the near part located within the non-outlet area of the ice sheet. Comparison with the historical data indicated that the glacier’s flow accelerated by an average of 24% over the past 10–15 years. Existence of similar trends in the neighboring outlet glaciers allows making a conclusion about a significant influx of glacier ice into the Prydz Bay. Several zones of crevasses characterized by a teardrop-shaped cross-section were discovered within the study area. The width of crevasses in the nearsurface part does not exceed 0.4 m, but reaches 3.1 m at the depth of 10 m. No correlation was found between the direction of the crevasses and the ice-flow direction.
About the Authors
A. V. TerekhovRussian Federation
Saint Petersburg
U. V. Prokhorova
Russian Federation
Saint Petersburg
S. D. Grigorieva
Russian Federation
Saint Petersburg
M. R. Kuznetsova
Russian Federation
Saint Petersburg
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Supplementary files
For citation: Terekhov A.V., Prokhorova U.V., Grigorieva S.D., Kuznetsova M.R. Structure and Dynamics of the Near-surface Layer of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet near the Progress Station (Prydz Bay Area), 2022–2025 Ice and Snow. 2026;66(2):228-242. https://doi.org/10.7868/S2412376526020018
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ISSN 2412-3765 (Online)