Spatial and temporal Antarctic Ice Sheet mass trends, glacio-isostatic adjustment, and surface processes from a joint inversion of satellite altimeter, gravity, and GPS data

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
• Main Authors: Martin Espanol, Alba, Zammit Mangion, Andrew, Clarke, Peter J., Flament, Thomas, Helm, Veit, King, Matt A., Luthcke, Scott B., Petrie, Elizabeth, Rémy, Frederique, Schoen, Nana, Wouters, Bert, Bamber, Jonathan
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Antarctica; GIA; Ice dynamics; Mass balance; SMB; Amundsen Sea; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; East Antarctica; Ice Sheet; West Antarctica
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1983/a2948c34-2e64-4a2a-9069-6d8ff60b94c0; https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/a2948c34-2e64-4a2a-9069-6d8ff60b94c0; https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JF003550; https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/62695667/Martin_Espa_ol_jgrf_2016.pdf; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84957991561&partnerID=8YFLogxK

We present spatiotemporal mass balance trends for the Antarctic Ice Sheet from a statistical inversion of satellite altimetry, gravimetry, and elastic-corrected GPS data for the period 2003-2013. Our method simultaneously determines annual trends in ice dynamics, surface mass balance anomalies, and a time-invariant solution for glacio-isostatic adjustment while remaining largely independent of forward models. We establish that over the period 2003-2013, Antarctica has been losing mass at a rate of -84 ± 22 Gt yr -1 , with a sustained negative mean trend of dynamic imbalance of -111 ± 13 Gt yr -1 . West Antarctica is the largest contributor with -112 ± 10 Gt yr -1 , mainly triggered by high thinning rates of glaciers draining into the Amundsen Sea Embayment. The Antarctic Peninsula has experienced a dramatic increase in mass loss in the last decade, with a mean rate of -28 ± 7 Gt yr -1 and significantly higher values for the most recent years following the destabilization of the Southern Antarctic Peninsula around 2010. The total mass loss is partly compensated by a significant mass gain of 56 ± 18 Gt yr -1 in East Antarctica due to a positive trend of surface mass balance anomalies.