SLOPES: Antarctic Ice Shelf Basal Melting Data from Fimbul Ice Shelf

SLOPES is a dataset from NASA's Earthdata platform studying the role of basal slopes in ice shelf melting. The project uses a novel field dataset collected in January 2024 from a channel in the Fimbul Ice Shelf, Antarctica, using the Icefin underwater vehicle and other instrumentation. Results aim to improve parameterizations of melting processes in large-scale models for sea level rise projections, which could amount to 53 cm by 2100.

Use Cases

• Modeling ice shelf melting rates based on basal slope angles mentioned in the description
• Analyzing the sensitivity of basal channels and crevasses to oceanographic forcing
• Improving parameterizations for ice-ocean processes in large-scale climate models
• Studying the evolution of ice topography from ocean forcing over time

Strengths

• Focuses on a specific, high-impact process (melting along sloped ice bases) with global implications for sea level rise.
• Data collection involved in situ measurements from the Fimbul Ice Shelf in January 2024 using the Icefin underwater vehicle.
• Results will be contextualized by comparison with previous Icefin data from various oceanographic settings around Antarctica.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the single study location of Fimbul Ice Shelf.

Provenance

Source

nasa_earthdata, AMD_USAPDC

Collection Method

In situ data collection with the Icefin underwater vehicle and other instrumentation.

Time Range

Primary data collected in January 2024.

Freshness

Last updated 2028-08-31 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Fimbul Ice Shelf, Antarctica.