Dataset for: Fast retreat of Pope, Smith, and Kohler glaciers in West Antarctica observed by satellite interferometry

Pope, Smith, and Kohler glaciers, in the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West
Antarctica, have experienced enhanced ocean-induced ice-shelf melt,
glacier acceleration, ice thinning, and grounding line retreat in the past
thirty years, in a glaciological setting with retrograde bedrock slopes
conducive to marine ice sheet instability. Here we present observations of
the grounding line retreat of these glaciers since 2014 using a
constellation of interferometric radar satellites with a short revisit
cycle combined with precision surface elevation data. We find that the
glacier grounding lines develop spatially-variable, km-sized,
tidally-induced migration zones. After correction for tidal effects, we
detect a sustained pattern of retreat coincident with high melt rates of
un-grounded ice, marked by episodes of more rapid retreat. In 2017, Pope
Glacier retreated 3.5 km in 3.6 months, or 11.7 km/yr. In 2016-2018, Smith
West retreated at 2 km/yr and Kohler at 1.3
km/yr.  While the retreat slowed down in 2018-2020,
these retreat rates are faster than anticipated by numerical models on
yearly time scales. We hypothesize that the rapid retreat is caused by
un-represented, vigorous ice-ocean interactions acting within newly-formed
cavities at the ice-ocean boundary.