Blog Post Image: ‘Tiger stripes’ underneath Antarctic glaciers slow the flow

Researchers at Princeton University and the British Antarctic Survey used mathematical modeling and data from satellites and ground-penetrating radar to infer the existence of stripes or ribs (in red) indicating areas of high friction between the glacier and the underlying bedrock. These high-friction ribs slow the movement of ice toward the sea. The image on the left is the Pine Island Glacier and the image on the right is the Thwaites Glacier, both in West Antarctica. (Image courtesy of Olga Sergienko, Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences)