Mapping the Grounding line of Antarctica - first results of the airborne SWIDA-RINGS Circumnavigation Campaign 2024-25

A major airborne remote sensing campaign with multifrequency radar, lidar, imagery and gravimetry was carried out in a circumnavigation of Antarctica in the 2024/25 season, as a major contribution to the recent SCAR RINGS initiative. The primary purpose of the campaign was to measure ice thickness along the grounding line, to secure better data on Antarctic mass balance by the input-output method, and thus adding more reliable information to solve the discrepancies between space-based mass balance estimates of Antarctica, but also to monitor upper ice layers, providing input data for models, and adding improved gravity measurements to rectify earlier geophysical surveys. The airborne campaign was based on a 30 GHz deep ice sounding radar, along with a 5 GHz broadband snow radar of University of Kansas, along with scanning lidar, nadir and side-looking imagery and gravimeters, and even included  atmosphere chemistry and aerosol monitoring sensors in cooperation with EPFL, Switzerland. The logistics involved two Twin-Otters (one for science and one for logistics), helicopters (used for access to national bases), as well as logistics support from a Brazilean-chartered icebreaker, hosting a complimentary scientific program with a.o. shallow ice  coring and oceanography. The presentation will show some first results of the campaign, and also highlight the usefulness of private-public cooperation in the extensive and costly field program.