Abstract:

Grounding line is the boundary between inland grounded ice sheet and floating ice shelf. The precise
extraction of its location has a significant impact on the Antarctic ice sheet mass balance. Grounding line
extraction method has been developed from in situ RES and GPS of small-scale to remote sensing measurements
of large-scale. Four main techniques of remote sensing measurements, including hydrostatic equilibrium,
slope analysis, repeated track analysis and differential SAR interferometry, lay the foundation of five
released grounding line products of the whole Antarctica, named MOA, ASAID, ICESat, MEaSUREs and
Synthesized grounding line product. With the development of remote sensing technology, multi-source remote
sensing data will be used for grounding line extraction with high-precision, and its dynamic changes
monitoring with longer temporal scale in whole Antarctica. Moreover, the change mechanism of the
grounding line position coupled with bottom melt of ice shelf, bed topography and ocean temperature, and
building models of its relationship with climate change will be future research hotpots.

Key words: Antarctic ice sheet, grounding line, grounding zone, remote sensing monitoring