Laser altimetry reveals complex pattern of Greenland Ice Sheet dynamics

Significance We present the first detailed reconstruction of surface elevation changes of the Greenland Ice Sheet from NASA’s laser altimetry data. Time series at nearly 100,000 locations allow the characterization of ice sheet changes at scales ranging from individual outlet glaciers to larger drai...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Main Authors: Csatho, Beata M., Schenk, Anton F., van der Veen, Cornelis J., Babonis, Gregory, Duncan, Kyle, Rezvanbehbahani, Soroush, van den Broeke, Michiel R., Simonsen, Sebastian Bjerregaard, Nagarajan, Sudhagar, van Angelen, Jan H.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Physical Sciences
Earth
Atmospheric
and Planetary Sciences
/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
name=SDG 13 - Climate Action
Greenland
Ice Sheet
Online Access:https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/0f9e040b-00dc-421c-88f6-ac236d1800f6
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1411680112
Description
Summary:Significance We present the first detailed reconstruction of surface elevation changes of the Greenland Ice Sheet from NASA’s laser altimetry data. Time series at nearly 100,000 locations allow the characterization of ice sheet changes at scales ranging from individual outlet glaciers to larger drainage basins and the entire ice sheet. Our record shows that continuing dynamic thinning provides a substantial contribution to Greenland mass loss. The large spatial and temporal variations of dynamic mass loss and widespread intermittent thinning indicate the complexity of ice sheet response to climate forcing, strongly enforcing the need for continued monitoring at high spatial resolution and for improving numerical ice sheet models.

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