Tidal Modulation of Ice Stream Flow in West Antarctica

A NASA EarthData project investigating the sensitivity of West Antarctic ice streams D, C, and Whillans to tidal oscillations. The project deployed coordinated seismic and GPS instrument packages at 100-km spacing on Whillans and ice stream D to measure spatial extent over two lunar cycles. Data was collected by the organization SCIOPS and last updated on the platform in 2006.

Use Cases

• Modeling ice stream response to tidal forcing based on described diurnal speed variations.
• Analyzing propagation speeds of motion events based on seismic wave velocity measurements.
• Investigating basal water pressure fluctuations based on observations up to 400 km upstream.
• Comparing contrasting tidal behaviors between different ice streams (Whillans, D, C).

Strengths

• Focuses on three major West Antarctic ice streams (D, C, and Whillans) with distinct tidal signals.
• Deployment involved five coordinated seismic and GPS instrument packages per ice stream at 100-km spacing.
• Data collection planned for two lunar cycles to capture spring and neap tide effects.

Limitations

• Last updated 2006-01 25 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

nasa_earthdata

Collection Method

Data gathered via deployment of seismic and GPS instrument packages by Twin Otter aircraft, supplemented by analysis of satellite imagery and existing datasets.

Time Range

Covers field seasons planned over multiple years, with platform update in 2006.

Freshness

2006-01-25 23:59:59.999000

Geography

West Antarctica, specifically ice streams D, C, and Whillans (B), with observations up to 400 km upstream.