Ice shelf grounding zone structure from ICESat laser altimetry

We present a technique for investigating the grounding zone (GZ) of Antarctic ice shelves using laser altimetry from the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). Most surface height variability in the GZ is easily resolved by the ICESat laser's similar to 65 m footprint and similar to 172 m along-track spacing. Comparisons of repeated tracks sampled at different phases of the ocean tide identify the landward and seaward limits of tide-forced ice flexure, providing GZ location and width information for each track. Using ICESat data in the Institute Ice Stream region of southern Ronne Ice Shelf, we demonstrate that the location of the GZ based on feature identification in satellite imagery or digital elevation models may be in error by several km. Our results show that ICESat will contribute significantly to improving knowledge of GZ structure and to studies requiring accurate GZ locations, e. g., ice mass balance calculations and ice-sheet/ocean modeling.