Four decades of Antarctic Ice Sheet mass balance from 1979–2017
We evaluate the state of the mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet over the last four decades using a comprehensive, precise satellite record and output products from a regional atmospheric climate model to document its impact on sea-level rise. The mass loss is dominated by enhanced glacier flow...
Published in: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
National Academy of Sciences
2019
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6347714/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30642972 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1812883116 |
Summary: | We evaluate the state of the mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet over the last four decades using a comprehensive, precise satellite record and output products from a regional atmospheric climate model to document its impact on sea-level rise. The mass loss is dominated by enhanced glacier flow in areas closest to warm, salty, subsurface circumpolar deep water, including East Antarctica, which has been a major contributor over the entire period. The same sectors are likely to dominate sea-level rise from Antarctica in decades to come as enhanced polar westerlies push more circumpolar deep water toward the glaciers. |
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