Journal
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 41, Issue 23, Pages 8421-8428Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2014GL061940
Keywords
mass balance; time-variable gravity; altimetry; ice fluxes; West Antarctica
Categories
Funding
- NASA [JPL-1390432, UTA12-000609, UTA13-000917]
- Netherlands Polar Program
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We compare four independent estimates of the mass balance of the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica, an area experiencing rapid retreat and mass loss to the sea. We use ICESat and Operation IceBridge laser altimetry, Envisat radar altimetry, GRACE time-variable gravity, RACMO2.3 surface mass balance, ice velocity from imaging radars, and ice thickness from radar sounders. The four methods agree in terms of mass loss and acceleration in loss at the regional scale. Over 1992-2013, the mass loss is 835 Gt/yr with an acceleration of 6.10.7 Gt/yr(2). During the common period 2003-2009, the mass loss is 8410 Gt/yr with an acceleration of 16.35.6 Gt/yr(2), nearly 3 times the acceleration over 1992-2013. Over 2003-2011, the mass loss is 102 +/- 10 Gt/yr with an acceleration of 15.7 +/- 4.0 Gt/yr(2). The results reconcile independent mass balance estimates in a setting dominated by change in ice dynamics with significant variability in surface mass balance.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available