Mass loss of Greenland from GRACE, IceSat and CryoSat

CryoSat data over the Greenland Ice Sheet are used to continue elevation height change data over the Greenland ice sheet, following a decade of detailed monitoring of ice sheet changes with GRACE and IceSat. The combination and validation of the different data for measuring changes is quantified by...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Forsberg, René, Sørensen, Louise Sandberg, Fredenslund Levinsen, Joanna, Nilsson, Johan
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: European Space Agency 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/0e88b955-a7ce-4ae1-9b0a-b5186e294d60
Description
Summary:CryoSat data over the Greenland Ice Sheet are used to continue elevation height change data over the Greenland ice sheet, following a decade of detailed monitoring of ice sheet changes with GRACE and IceSat. The combination and validation of the different data for measuring changes is quantified by using available airborne lidar data from IceBridge and CryoVEx. There is a special challenge of using CryoSat as fill-in between EnviSat and Sentinel-3 for the longterm measurements of surface elevation changes, a key essential climate variable in the ESA Climate Change Initiative. Another challenge is the joint utilization of both altimetry and gravity field change measurements for consistent estimates of regional change patterns. In the paper we analyze GRACE, IceSat and CryoSat data since 2003, and present consistent estimates of overall mass changes with average values around -220 GT/year, showing large variations from year to year, with 2012 being another record melt year for the Greenland ice sheet. Sources of the changes are mainly melt of the marginal ice zones in SE and NW Greenland, as well as changes in the major outlet glaciers.