Two Candidate New Active Subglacial Lakes in Antarctica Detected with ICESat-2 Laser Altimetry (2019–2026)

Using NASA ICESat-2 data (ATL15 v6, ATL06 v7, ATL11 v7), we identify two previously unreported active subglacial lakes in Antarctica: one in the upper Whillans Ice Stream catchment (about 84.1°S, 127.7°W, about 120 km², with +1.44 m fill and −2.03 m drain over 2021–2024) and one in the interior Lambert Glacier basin (about 76.4°S, 77.0°E, about 126 km², with +0.79 m fill and −0.50 m drain over 2022–2025). Neither site appears in published active-lake inventories. The analysis was carried out with help from an AI research assistant."

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24141353
Primary Topic
Cryospheric studies and observations
Type
preprint
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preprint

Two Candidate New Active Subglacial Lakes in Antarctica Detected with ICESat-2 Laser Altimetry (2019–2026)

Aaron Allee
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Cryospheric studies and observations
preprint

Two Candidate New Active Subglacial Lakes in Antarctica Detected with ICESat-2 Laser Altimetry (2019–2026)

Aaron Allee
preprint en

Abstract

Using NASA ICESat-2 data (ATL15 v6, ATL06 v7, ATL11 v7), we identify two previously unreported active subglacial lakes in Antarctica: one in the upper Whillans Ice Stream catchment (about 84.1°S, 127.7°W, about 120 km², with +1.44 m fill and −2.03 m drain over 2021–2024) and one in the interior Lambert Glacier basin (about 76.4°S, 77.0°E, about 126 km², with +0.79 m fill and −0.50 m drain over 2022–2025). Neither site appears in published active-lake inventories. The analysis was carried out with help from an AI research assistant."

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Cryospheric studies and observations
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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Two Candidate New Active Subglacial Lakes in Antarctica Detected with ICESat-2 Laser Altimetry (2019–2026) — Aaron Allee · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS