Pine Island Glacier

Pine Island Glacier
British Antarctic Survey field camp on PIG
TypeIce stream
LocationWest Antarctic Ice Sheet, Antarctica
Coordinates75°10′S 100°0′W / 75.167°S 100.000°W / -75.167; -100.000[1]
Area175,000 km2 (68,000 sq mi) (whole catchment)[2]
LengthApprox. 250 km (160 mi)[2]
ThicknessApprox. 2 km (1.2 mi)
TerminusFloating Ice shelf
StatusAccelerating

Pine Island Glacier (PIG) is a large ice stream, and the fastest melting glacier in Antarctica. responsible for about 13% of Antarctica's ice loss.[3] The glacier flows west-northwest along the south side of the Hudson Mountains into Pine Island Bay, part of the Amundsen Sea. The area drained by Pine Island Glacier comprises about 10% of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.[4] Satellite measurements have shown that the Pine Island Glacier Basin has a greater net contribution of ice to the sea than any other ice drainage basin in the world and this has increased due to recent acceleration of the ice stream.[5][6] In recent years, the flow of the glacier has accelerated and the grounding line has retreated.[7]

Since 2015, the calving of very large icebergs from the Pine Island Glacier has become a roughly annual event.[8] The largest such iceberg, Iceberg B-46, had an initial size of 226 square kilometres (87 sq mi).[9]

The glacier is extremely remote, but scientists have surveyed the ice with radar, GPS, and seismic sensors.[10][11] Most of the data about the glacier has been gathered from aerial and satellite surveys.[2][6]

Like the neighboring Thwaites Glacier, the Pine Island Glacier is a target of proposed engineering interventions to reduce ice loss.[12]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference gnisPineIslandGlacier was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference VaughanCorr2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shepherd2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference RignotBamber2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Rignot2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference NASAUnderbelly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Pine Island Glacier Quickly Drops Another Iceberg". Earth Observatory. NASA. 8 November 2018.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference EO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference measuring was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference BAS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wolovick2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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