{
  "abstract": "Supraglacial drainage systems represent critical components of the surface hydrology on Antarctic ice shelves, facilitating the redistribution of meltwater, including into and out of supraglacial lakes, potentially influencing ice-shelf stability. However, the seasonal and interannual variability in their spatial extent, structural evolution, and climatic sensitivity remain poorly quantified, particularly compared to observations of supraglacial lakes. In this study, we investigate the interannual evolution of supraglacial drainage systems on Nivlisen Ice Shelf in East Antarctica between 2017 and 2024 using Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 satellite imagery, with a detailed seasonal analysis during the 2018–2019 melt season. Key metrics including surface water area, total channel length, number of supraglacial drainage components, and the number of individual channels were derived to quantify the drainage evolution, system connectivity and complexity. We find significant interannual variability in the number of drainage components (from 34–186) and total channel length (from 345–1275 km), with peak length of channels observed in 2018. During the 2018–2019 melt season, channels progressively integrated and connected to form a very well-connected drainage system, which then fragmented towards the end of the melt season. We find that drainage systems are strongly influenced by ice shelf surface structures and undulations at a range of scales, with larger channels reforming in the same location. Correlation analysis shows that the evolution of drainage systems is tightly coupled to regional air temperature, with surface water extent and drainage connectivity strongly linked to reanalysis-based temperature outputs ( r >0.9, p <0.05). Snow had variable effects, depending on its timing and how readily it could be melted. Our findings underscore the important dynamic nature of supraglacial channels in redistributing meltwater on Antarctic ice shelves.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Durham University (Durham, United Kingdom)"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiao Chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rebecca A. Hodge",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8792-8949"
    },
    {
      "name": "Stewart S. R. Jamieson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chris R. Stokes",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3355-1573"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c3xehpmpktg7f.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.5194/tc-20-5785-2026",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "c3xehpmpktg7f",
  "issns": [
    "1994-0424"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/20/5785/2026/",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1902|Cryospheric studies and observations"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7129412690",
  "pdf_url": "https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/20/5785/2026/tc-20-5785-2026.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-12",
  "publisher": "Copernicus GmbH",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c3xehpmpktg7f.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:37Z",
      "native_id": "10.5194/tc-20-5785-2026",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/20/5785/2026/"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "openalex:1902|Cryospheric studies and observations",
      "subfield": "atmospheric"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Interannual and seasonal evolution of supraglacial drainage systems on Nivlisen Ice Shelf, East Antarctica",
  "title_text": "Interannual and seasonal evolution of supraglacial drainage systems on Nivlisen Ice Shelf, East Antarctica",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:37Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c3xehpmpktg7f",
  "venue": "The Cryosphere",
  "versions": [
    {
      "doi": "10.5194/egusphere-2025-5562",
      "pid": null,
      "relation": "preprint",
      "title": null,
      "venue": null
    }
  ]
}