Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution
Recent estimates of Antarctica's present-day rate of ice-mass contribution to changes in sea level range from 31 gigatonnes a year (Gt yr -1; ref. 1) to 246 Gt yr -1 (ref. 2), a range that cannot be reconciled within formal errors. Time-varying rates of mass loss contribute to this, but substan...
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:83481 2023-05-15T13:24:14+02:00 Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution King, MA Bingham, RJ Moore, P Whitehouse, PL Bentley, MJ Milne, GA 2012 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11621 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23086145 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/83481 en eng Nature Publishing Group http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11621 King, MA and Bingham, RJ and Moore, P and Whitehouse, PL and Bentley, MJ and Milne, GA, Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution, Nature, 491, (7425) pp. 586-590. ISSN 0028-0836 (2012) [Refereed Article] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23086145 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/83481 Earth Sciences Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience not elsewhere classified Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2012 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11621 2019-12-13T21:48:07Z Recent estimates of Antarctica's present-day rate of ice-mass contribution to changes in sea level range from 31 gigatonnes a year (Gt yr -1; ref. 1) to 246 Gt yr -1 (ref. 2), a range that cannot be reconciled within formal errors. Time-varying rates of mass loss contribute to this, but substantial technique-specific systematic errors also exist. In particular, estimates of secular ice-mass change derived from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data are dominated by significant uncertainty in the accuracy of models of mass change due to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). Here we adopt a new model of GIA, developed from geological constraints, which produces GIA rates systematically lower than those of previous models, and an improved fit to independent uplift data. After applying the model to 99 months (from August 2002 to December 2010) of GRACE data, we estimate a continent-wide ice-mass change of -69 18 Gt yr -1 (+0.19 0.05 mm yr -1 sea-level equivalent). This is about a third to a half of the most recently published GRACE estimates, which cover a similar time period but are based on older GIA models. Plausible GIA model uncertainties, and errors relating to removing longitudinal GRACE artefacts ('destriping'), confine our estimate to the range -126 Gt yr -1 to -29 Gt yr -1 (0.08-0.35 mm yr -1 sea-level equivalent). We resolve 26 independent drainage basins and find that Antarctic mass loss, and its acceleration, is concentrated in basins along the Amundsen Sea coast. Outside this region, we find that West Antarctica is nearly in balance and that East Antarctica is gaining substantial mass. Article in Journal/Newspaper Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica West Antarctica eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Amundsen Sea Antarctic East Antarctica West Antarctica Nature 491 7425 586 589 |
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eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
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English |
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Earth Sciences Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience not elsewhere classified |
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Earth Sciences Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience not elsewhere classified King, MA Bingham, RJ Moore, P Whitehouse, PL Bentley, MJ Milne, GA Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience not elsewhere classified |
description |
Recent estimates of Antarctica's present-day rate of ice-mass contribution to changes in sea level range from 31 gigatonnes a year (Gt yr -1; ref. 1) to 246 Gt yr -1 (ref. 2), a range that cannot be reconciled within formal errors. Time-varying rates of mass loss contribute to this, but substantial technique-specific systematic errors also exist. In particular, estimates of secular ice-mass change derived from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data are dominated by significant uncertainty in the accuracy of models of mass change due to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). Here we adopt a new model of GIA, developed from geological constraints, which produces GIA rates systematically lower than those of previous models, and an improved fit to independent uplift data. After applying the model to 99 months (from August 2002 to December 2010) of GRACE data, we estimate a continent-wide ice-mass change of -69 18 Gt yr -1 (+0.19 0.05 mm yr -1 sea-level equivalent). This is about a third to a half of the most recently published GRACE estimates, which cover a similar time period but are based on older GIA models. Plausible GIA model uncertainties, and errors relating to removing longitudinal GRACE artefacts ('destriping'), confine our estimate to the range -126 Gt yr -1 to -29 Gt yr -1 (0.08-0.35 mm yr -1 sea-level equivalent). We resolve 26 independent drainage basins and find that Antarctic mass loss, and its acceleration, is concentrated in basins along the Amundsen Sea coast. Outside this region, we find that West Antarctica is nearly in balance and that East Antarctica is gaining substantial mass. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
King, MA Bingham, RJ Moore, P Whitehouse, PL Bentley, MJ Milne, GA |
author_facet |
King, MA Bingham, RJ Moore, P Whitehouse, PL Bentley, MJ Milne, GA |
author_sort |
King, MA |
title |
Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution |
title_short |
Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution |
title_full |
Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution |
title_fullStr |
Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution |
title_full_unstemmed |
Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution |
title_sort |
lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of antarctic sea-level contribution |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11621 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23086145 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/83481 |
geographic |
Amundsen Sea Antarctic East Antarctica West Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
Amundsen Sea Antarctic East Antarctica West Antarctica |
genre |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica West Antarctica |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11621 King, MA and Bingham, RJ and Moore, P and Whitehouse, PL and Bentley, MJ and Milne, GA, Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution, Nature, 491, (7425) pp. 586-590. ISSN 0028-0836 (2012) [Refereed Article] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23086145 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/83481 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11621 |
container_title |
Nature |
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491 |
container_issue |
7425 |
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586 |
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589 |
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