A reconciled estimate of ice-sheet mass balance

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Shepherd, A, Ivins, ER, Geruo, A, Barletta, VR, Bentley, MJ, Bettadpur, S, Briggs, KH, Bromwich, DH, Forsberg, R, Galin, N, Horwath, M, Jacobs, S, Joughin, I, King, MA, Lenaerts, JTM, Li, J, Ligtenberg, SRM, Luckman, A, Luthcke, SB, McMillan, M, Meister, R, Milne, G, Mouginot, J, Muir, A, Nicolas, JP, Paden, J, Payne, AJ, Pritchard, H, Rignot, E, Rott, H, Sorensen, LS, Scambos, TA, Scheuchl, B, Schrama, EJO, Smith, B, Sundal, AV, Van Angelen, JH, Van De Berg, WJ, Van Den Broeke, MR, Vaughan, DG, Velicogna, I, Wahr, J, Whitehouse, PL, Wingham, DJ, Yi, D, Young, D, Zwally, HJ
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Amer Assoc Advancement Science 2012
• Subjects: Earth Sciences; Atmospheric Sciences; Atmospheric Sciences not elsewhere classified; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; East Antarctica; Greenland; The Antarctic; West Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1228102; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23197528; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/83528

We combined an ensemble of satellite altimetry, interferometry, and gravimetry data sets using common geographical regions, time intervals, and models of surface mass balance and glacial isostatic adjustment to estimate the mass balance of Earths polar ice sheets. We find that there is good agreement between different satellite methodsespecially in Greenland and West Antarcticaand that combining satellite data sets leads to greater certainty. Between 1992 and 2011, the ice sheets of Greenland, East Antarctica, West Antarctica, and the Antarctic Peninsula changed in mass by 142 49, +14 43, 65 26, and 20 14 gigatonnes year −1 , respectively. Since 1992, the polar ice sheets have contributed, on average, 0.59 0.20 millimeter year −1 to the rate of global sea-level rise.