Brief communication: Bed mapping of southern Greenland outlet glaciers using helicopter-borne ground penetrating radar (AIRETH)

˜The œcryosphere 2026 Open access

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Authors: Ilaria Santin, Huw Horgan, Raphael Moser, Nanna B. Karlsson, Faezeh M. Nick, Andreas Vieli, Anja Rutishauser, Hansruedi Maurer, Daniel Farinotti
DOI: 10.5194/tc-20-3435-2026
Cited by: 1
References: 13

Abstract

Here we present the first southern Greenland deployment of the re-designed Airborne Ice Radar of ETH Zürich (AIRETH). We surveyed a total of 348 km of profiles over three outlet glaciers, identifying basal reflections along 102 km (29 %) of the flight lines. The 25 MHz antennas configuration achieved an effective penetration depth of about 300 m and a maximum measured ice thickness of about 340 m, with bed detectability decreasing over thicker and/or heavily crevassed ice. These results define the depth limitation of our system and show that terrain-following helicopter surveys can provide targeted constraints that complement existing datasets in complex topography.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Cryospheric studies and observations Climate change and permafrost Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics

Publication details

Journal / source
˜The œcryosphere
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Volume
20
Issue
6
Pages
3435–3441
Publication date
16 June 2026
Language
EN