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Global Land Ice Measurements from Space pp 759–780Cite as

Remote Sensing of Glaciers of the Subantarctic Islands

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Abstract

Through case studies, we summarize progress for the Subantarctic in the drive to complete the World Glacier Inventory. Most of the 29 Heard Island glaciers have shrunk since the first observations in 1947, several having begun to retreat from former tidewater termini. Total glacier area decreased from 288 km2 in 1947 to 257 km2 in 1988 and 231 km2 in 2008. On Kerguelen, shrinkage has been more dramatic. In 1963–1964, the date of the earliest complete coverage, glacier extent was 703 km2. In 2001, it was 552 km2. We have compiled the first objective topographic map of Montagu Island, the largest of the South Sandwich Islands (glacierized area 94 km2), using the ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model (version 1). We assess the shortcomings of this new tool, and conclude that it may indeed prove valuable for first-time mapping. It will also be useful as an aid in selecting accurately dated scenes for estimation of multidecadal change. An inventory based on cartographic sources yields an estimate for total glacier area in the Subantarctic during the late 20th century of 7,863 km2. Limited measurements on other islands suggest that Heard Island and Kerguelen are typical of glacier shrinkage, thinning, and negative mass balance across the region.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Gregory Leonard (University of Arizona) for contribution of Online Supplement 32.5 showing the Mt. Belinda ASTER time series. ASTER data courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/Japan Space Systems, the U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team, and the GLIMS project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada

    J. Graham Cogley

  2. Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Laboratoire d’Etude en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales, OMP-LEGOS, Toulouse, France

    Etienne Berthier

  3. Antarctic Climate and Ecosystem Cooperative Research Centre, Hobart, Australia

    Shavawn Donoghue

  4. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia

    Shavawn Donoghue

Authors
  1. J. Graham Cogley
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  2. Etienne Berthier
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  3. Shavawn Donoghue
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Arizona Dept. Hydrology & Water Resources, Tucson, Arizona, USA

    Jeffrey S. Kargel

  2. Dept. Hydrology and Water Resources, Global Land Ice Measurements from Space University of Arizona, Tuscon, Arizona, USA

    Gregory J. Leonard

  3. Texas A & M University Department of Geography, College Station, Texas, USA

    Michael P. Bishop

  4. University of Oslo Dept. Geosciences, Oslo, Norway

    Andreas Kääb

  5. University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA

    Bruce H. Raup

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Cogley, J.G., Berthier, E., Donoghue, S. (2014). Remote Sensing of Glaciers of the Subantarctic Islands. In: Kargel, J., Leonard, G., Bishop, M., Kääb, A., Raup, B. (eds) Global Land Ice Measurements from Space. Springer Praxis Books(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79818-7_32

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