Long-term ice mass changes in Greenland and Antarctica derived from satellite laser ranging [preprint] ...

• Main Authors: Gałdyn, Filip, Sośnica, Krzysztof, Zajdel, Radosław, Meyer, Ulrich, Jäggi, Adrian
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: OMEGA-PSIR 2024
• Subjects: Ice mass balance, time-variable gravity field determination, GRACE, GRACE Follow-On, SLR, Earth’s, gravity models; Antarc*; Antarctica; Greenland; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.57755/xnaf-mv77; https://bazawiedzy.upwr.edu.pl/info/article/UPWR8eeb3a088ebd474695b68fcffdec7929/

Time-variable gravity field models obtained from satellite gravimetric techniques allow for the assessment of ice sheet mass changes in remote polar regions, such as Greenland and Antarctica. So far, GRACE has been the primary mission for obtaining the global time-variable gravity field models. However, GRACE was launched in 2002, thus very little is known about the global mass changes before this data, as well as between GRACE and its successor – GRACE Follow-On. We derive a method of gravity field recovery based on Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) data to geodetic satellites that allows for obtaining direct ice mass change estimates for a period longer by 10 years than that provided by the GRACE missions. The developed method is based on splitting normal equation systems and re-stacking the solutions which allow for stable inversion, reduces the correlations between obtained parameters, stabilizes the ice mass estimates in polar regions, and reduces the noise over oceans by a factor of four. The secular ...