Measurements of Time-Variable Gravity Show Mass Loss in Antarctica

Using measurements of time-variable gravity from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites, we determined mass variations of the Antarctic ice sheet during 2002–2005. We found that the mass of the ice sheet decreased significantly, at a rate of 152 ± 80 cubic kilometers of ice per year,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Velicogna, Isabella, Wahr, John
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2006
Subjects:
Antarctic
The Antarctic
West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Antarc*
Antarctica
Ice Sheet
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1123785
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1123785
Description
Summary:Using measurements of time-variable gravity from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites, we determined mass variations of the Antarctic ice sheet during 2002–2005. We found that the mass of the ice sheet decreased significantly, at a rate of 152 ± 80 cubic kilometers of ice per year, which is equivalent to 0.4 ± 0.2 millimeters of global sea-level rise per year. Most of this mass loss came from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

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