Inferring effective firn grain size across Antarctic ice shelves from ASCAT observations

Shukla, Shashwat; Wouters, Bert; Veldhuijsen, Sanne; de Roda Husman, Sophie; Li, Weiran; Lhermitte, Stef

doi:10.5194/eo-1-15-2026

Articles | Volume 1, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/eo-1-15-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/eo-1-15-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 1, issue 1

Research article

|

29 Jul 2026

Research article |

| 29 Jul 2026

Inferring effective firn grain size across Antarctic ice shelves from ASCAT observations

Shashwat Shukla, Bert Wouters, Sanne Veldhuijsen, Sophie de Roda Husman, Weiran Li, and Stef Lhermitte

Data sets

Code and data for “Inferring Effective Firn Grain Size across Antarctic Ice Shelves from ASCAT Observations” Shashwat Shukla et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21499624

Data set: Yearly RACMO2.3p2 variables, threshold temperature and Sentinel-2 melt pond volume Jan van Wessem et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7334047

Model code and software

IMAU-FDM v12AD TC release Sanne Veldhuijsen https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10723570

Short summary

Antarctic ice shelves help slow ice flow into the ocean, but their stability depends partly on the upper firn layer. Air in firn affects how much meltwater can be stored, while grain size helps describe firn structure. We combined fifteen years of satellite radar data with physical models to estimate these properties across Antarctic ice shelves. Our results provide a new way to monitor conditions linked to meltwater build-up and possible instability.