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Science 12 April 1991:
Vol. 252. no. 5003, pp. 242 - 246
DOI: 10.1126/science.252.5003.242
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Articles

Satellite-Image-Derived Velocity Field of an Antarctic Ice Stream

R. A. BINDSCHADLER 1 and T. A. SCAMBOS 2

1 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 971, Greenbelt, MD 20771
2 ST Systems Corporation, 4400 Forbes Boulevard, Lanham, MD 20706

The surface velocity of a rapidly moving ice stream has been determined to high accuracy and spatial density with the use of sequential satellite imagery. Variations of ice velocity are spatially related to surface undulations, and transverse velocity variations of up to 30 percent occur. Such large variations negate the concept of plug flow and call into question earlier mass-balance calculations for this and other ice streams where sparse velocity data were used. The coregistration of images with the use of the topographic undulations of the ice stream and the measurement of feature displacement with cross-correlation of image windows provide significant improvements in the use of satellite imagery for ice-flow determination.

Submitted on December 6, 1990
Accepted on February 25, 1991


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