Amery Ice Shelf Grounding Zone Slope Break Points from MODIS

East Antarctica's Amery Ice Shelf grounding zone is defined by a series of interpreted surface slope break points. The Australian Antarctic Data Centre processed MODIS 250 m imagery to create this geospatial dataset, which was last updated in November 2003. It provides point positions and connecting arcs in geographic coordinates to map the landward edge of the ice shelf.

Use Cases

• Map the grounding line position from the interpreted slope break points to study ice shelf extent.
• Analyze the shape of the grounding zone margin using the provided arcs connecting the points.
• Validate ice sheet models by comparing the geographic coordinates of the interpreted grounding line with model outputs.
• Study surface slope variations in the Amery Ice Shelf region using the reflectance-derived indicators.

Strengths

• Data derived from MODIS satellite imagery at 250-meter resolution.
• Provides both point data and connecting arcs for the grounding zone margin.

Limitations

• The dataset is temporally stale, with a last update in 2003.
• The interpretation of slope breaks was performed interactively, introducing potential subjectivity.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and sample data are unavailable for assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC) via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Interpretation of MODIS 250 m Channel 2 reflectance products, remapped to a Polar Stereographic Projection, to identify surface slope breaks.

Freshness

Last updated on 2003-11-02.

Geography

Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica.