We present a new, fully automated method of mapping the Antarctic Ice Sheet’s grounding zone using a repeat-track analysis and crossover analysis of newly acquired ICESat-2 laser altimeter data. We map the position of the landward limit of tidal flexure and the inshore limit of hydrostatic equilibrium, as demonstrated over the mountainous and hitherto difficult to survey grounding zone of Larsen C Ice Shelf. Since the start of data acquisition in 2018, our method has already achieved a near 9-fold increase in the number of grounding zone observations compared with ICESat, which operated between 2003 and 2009. We have improved coverage in particular over the previously poorly mapped the Bawden and Gipps ice rises and Hearst Island. Acting as a reliable proxy for the grounding line, which cannot be directly imaged by satellites, our ICESat-2-derived landward limit of tidal flexure locations agrees well with independently obtained measurements, with a mean absolute difference and standard deviation of 0.39 and 0.32 km, respectively, compared to interferometric synthetic-aperture-radar-based observations.

We analyzed the evolution processes of two tabular icebergs, C28A and C28B, originating from iceberg C28, using continuous multisource radar remote sensing data. The monitoring began during the calving of iceberg C28 from the Mertz Ice Tongue in February 2010 and ended in April 2012. The evolution of the iceberg area was determined from ENVISAT ASAR images, and the freeboard change was derived from CryoSat-2 profiles.