Abstract Between 1992 and 2017, the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) lost ice equivalent to 7.6 ± 3.9 mm of sea level rise. AIS mass loss is mitigated by ice shelves that provide a buttress by regulating ice flow from tributary glaciers. However, ice‐shelf stability is threatened by meltwater ponding, which may initiate, or reactivate preexisting, fractures, currently poorly understood processes. Here, through ground penetrating radar (GPR) analysis over a buried lake in the grounding zone of an East Antarctic ice shelf, we present the first field observations of a lake drainage event in Antarctica via vertical fractures. Concurrent with the lake drainage event, we observe a decrease in surface elevation and an increase in Sentinel‐1 backscatter. Finally, we suggest that fractures that are initiated or reactivated by lake drainage events in a grounding zone will propagate with ice flow onto the ice shelf itself, where they may have implications for its stability.

中文翻译：

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南极冰盖上埋藏湖泊排水的观测

摘要 1992 年至 2017 年间，南极冰盖 (AIS) 损失的冰相当于海平面上升 7.6 ± 3.9 毫米。冰架通过调节支流冰川的冰流提供支撑，减轻了 AIS 质量损失。然而，冰架稳定性受到融水积水的威胁，融水积水可能引发或重新激活先前存在的裂缝，目前尚不清楚的过程。在这里，通过对南极东部冰架接地区的一个埋藏湖泊的探地雷达 (GPR) 分析，我们首次通过垂直裂缝对南极洲湖泊排水事件进行了实地观测。在湖泊排水事件的同时，我们观察到表面高程的降低和 Sentinel-1 反向散射的增加。最后，