Monitoring of Antarctic Peninsula glacier terminus area change and ice surface velocity using dense satellite time series

The Antarctic Peninsula is among the most rapidly warming regions on Earth and has experienced widespread glacier retreat and acceleration since at least the 1980s, with significant implications for global sea level rise. Glacier change in this region unfolds across a wide range of timescales, spanning from short-lived dynamic events that can trigger persistent adjustments to recurring seasonal variability. However, Earth observation datasets that capture glaciological variables such as ice velocity or calving front dynamics at intra-annual timescales remain scarce. This is largely due to the small size and fast ice flow of Antarctic Peninsula glaciers, combined with complex topography, variable climate, and extreme weather conditions.

Here, we address this observational gap by leveraging a newly developed dataset of sub-seasonal terminus area change records (2013–2023) together with high-resolution satellite-derived ice surface velocity measurements (2014– 2024) to investigate the dynamics of 42 key outlet glaciers on the northern Antarctic Peninsula.

Our results reveal widespread glacier retreat and acceleration, with cumulative ice loss amounting to ~279 km². The majority of this loss (73 %) was observed for glaciers on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula, particularly within the Larsen B embayment, and is attributed to major calving events in early 2022. Although 71 % of the glaciers accelerated over the study period, most eastern glaciers displayed slight trends of slowdown – except for those in the Larsen B embayment, where initial deceleration was followed by abrupt and pronounced velocity increases after the calving events, with some glaciers more than doubling their flow speed. Seasonal analysis further indicates substantial inter-annual variability, with two-thirds of glaciers exhibiting strong seasonal velocity fluctuations, and around half displaying comparable signals in terminus area change.

Overall, the findings demonstrate the persistence of long-term trends of glacier retreat and flow acceleration, while also highlighting substantial spatial and temporal heterogeneity in glacier dynamics across the region, underscoring the need for temporally and spatially detailed monitoring.