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Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2017

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Philip Moore

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Abstract

© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is an important indicator of climate change and driver of sea-level rise. Here we combine satellite observations of its changing volume, flow and gravitational attraction with modelling of its surface mass balance to show that it lost 2,720 ± 1,390 billion tonnes of ice between 1992 and 2017, which corresponds to an increase in mean sea level of 7.6 ± 3.9 millimetres (errors are one standard deviation). Over this period, ocean-driven melting has caused rates of ice loss from West Antarctica to increase from 53 ± 29 billion to 159 ± 26 billion tonnes per year; ice-shelf collapse has increased the rate of ice loss from the Antarctic Peninsula from 7 ± 13 billion to 33 ± 16 billion tonnes per year. We find large variations in and among model estimates of surface mass balance and glacial isostatic adjustment for East Antarctica, with its average rate of mass gain over the period 1992-2017 (5 ± 46 billion tonnes per year) being the least certain.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Shepherd A, Ivins E, Rignot E, Smith B, Van Den Broeke M, Velicogna I, Whitehouse P, Briggs K, Joughin I, Krinner G, Nowicki S, Payne T, Scambos T, Schlegel N, Geruo A, Agosta C, Ahlstrom A, Babonis G, Barletta V, Blazquez A, Bonin J, Csatho B, Cullather R, Felikson D, Fettweis X, Forsberg R, Gallee H, Gardner A, Gilbert L, Groh A, Gunter B, Hanna E, Harig C, Helm V, Horvath A, Horwath M, Khan S, Kjeldsen KK, Konrad H, Langen P, Lecavalier B, Loomis B, Luthcke S, McMillan M, Melini D, Mernild S, Mohajerani Y, Moore P, Mouginot J, Moyano G, Muir A, Nagler T, Nield G, Nilsson J, Noel B, Otosaka I, Pattle ME, Peltier WR, Pie N, Rietbroek R, Rott H, Sandberg-Sorensen L, Sasgen I, Save H, Scheuchl B, Schrama E, Schroder L, Seo K-W, Simonsen S, Slater T, Spada G, Sutterley T, Talpe M, Tarasov L, Van De Berg WJ, Van Der Wal W, Van Wessem M, Vishwakarma BD, Wiese D, Wouters B

Publication type: Review

Publication status: Published

Journal: Nature

Year: 2018

Volume: 558

Issue: 7709

Pages: 219-222

Online publication date: 13/06/2018

Acceptance date: 24/04/2018

ISSN (print): 0028-0836

ISSN (electronic): 1476-4687

Publisher: Nature Publishing Group

URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0179-y

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0179-y


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